Chaffee football team bulldozes Portageville 38-7

~ Red Devils improved to 4-0 for the first time since 1969 with a romp past Portageville

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. -- Chaffee's high-powered offense has received much of the acclaim for the program's historic start to this football season.

But the Red Devils' defense has been just as strong -- and Friday night that unit took front and center stage.

The Red Devils nearly pitched a shutout and held host Portageville to only 90 total yards during a 38-7 victory that was every bit as dominant as the final score indicates.

"We have a very stout defense this year," senior running back and linebacker Jimmy Golden said in something of an understatement.

Chaffee’ Storm Estes is pursued by Portageville’s A.V. Banks after making a second-quarter interception Friday in Portageville, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

Added Golden with a smile: "I was wanting the shutout, but we played good."

Chaffee improved to 4-0, its best start since the 1969 squad began the season 6-0. The Red Devils, who have not trailed all year, have outscored the opposition 174-56. Their smallest margin of victory is 17 points.

Portageville (1-3) avoided the shutout by scoring a touchdown with 2 minutes, 7 seconds left on a night that featured only a few drizzles after steady rain had been in the forecast.

While Golden might have been a little disappointed by not getting the shutout, Chaffee coach Charlie Vickery didn't bat an eye.

"We had a lot of different guys in the game by then. The main thing was we wanted to keep everybody healthy," Vickery said. "I thought the defense played really well. I thought everybody on the defense played well.

"They [Portageville] have a good ballclub. They've run the ball well all year."

Not against the Red Devils.

The Bulldogs gained only 53 yards on 38 rushing attempts. That figure was hurt by two snaps that went way over the quarterback and resulted in 36 yards worth of losses.

And Chaffee's offense, as usual, did its part.

The Red Devils, who run an up-tempo, spread attack led by junior quarterback Peyton Montgomery, can hurt opponents on the ground as well as through the air.

Chaffee's passing attack wasn't clicking on all cylinders Friday, but the Red Devils' ground game dominated with 257 of the squad's 354 total yards.

"They did some good things. Give them credit for that," Vickery said about Portageville's defense.

Montgomery completed just 6 of 16 passes for 97 yards, although he had several passes dropped.

"We know if our passing game is not going, we'll use our offensive line," Montgomery said.

The elusive Montgomery, a true dual-threat quarterback, hurt Portageville with 70 yards rushing on nine carries.

While Montgomery ran on several designed plays, he also gained quite a bit of yardage on scrambles when he used his quickness and shiftiness to elude Portageville defenders.

"In that offense, you have to have a playmaker back there. He's a playmaker," said Vickery, whose squad improved to 2-0 in SEMO South Conference play.

Golden led Chaffee's rushing attack with 111 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns, from 16 yards and 1 yard.

Senior Charlie Montgomery, Peyton's older brother who lines up all over the field on offense, also scored on two runs, from 5 and 3 yards, while catching three passes for 54 yards.

Chaffee's defense had plenty of stars, including an unlikely one in senior Storm Estes, starting on defense for the first time in his varsity career.

Vickery said he started Estes, normally a backup linebacker, in the secondary to lend run support.

"He started this week because of the offense they run," Vickery said.

That turned out to be a wise move.

Estes recorded his first two varsity interceptions, both in the first half and both leading to Chaffee touchdowns.

"He did a really good job," Vickery said.

Estes helped set the tone for the game when he made a diving interception deep in Portageville territory midway through the first quarter of a then scoreless contest.

"It was a slant and he [quarterback Jon Garrett Kellams] threw behind the receiver," Estes said.

The interception set up Chaffee at the Portageville 16-yard line. The Red Devils scored three plays later on Charlie Montgomery's 5-yard run.

Estes caught a two-point conversion pass from Peyton Montgomery for an 8-0 lead with 5:45 left in the opening period.

Estes' second interception early in the second quarter snuffed out Portageville's only first-half scoring threat.

Chaffee's lone turnover of the night, a fumble, gave the Bulldogs the ball at the Red Devils' 22-yard line.

Four plays later, on fourth-and-4, Estes picked off Kellams and made a 15-yard return.

"It feels pretty good," Estes said about his two interceptions and Chaffee's 4-0 start. "But we can't get too cocky."

The Red Devils drove 73 yards after the pick. The big play was a screen pass to Charlie Montgomery for 47 yards.

Charlie Montgomery's 3-yard touchdown run and Peyton Montgomery's conversion run made it 16-0 with 7:40 left before halftime.

Chaffee drove 70 yards the next time it had the ball, the key play being a 34-yard pass to senior Devon Yahn on third-and-10.

Peyton Montgomery scored on a 12-yard scramble during which he eluded several defenders who had great shots at him. He passed to Yahn for the conversion and a 24-0 halftime lead.

The Red Devils continued to roll in the second half.

Golden's 16-yard run late in the third quarter capped a 58-yard drive and Golden's 1-yard plunge -- one play after his 29-yard burst -- midway through the final period ended a 48-yard march.

Peyton Montgomery kicked both extra points.

"It's a big win for us," Golden said. "I expected a tough game. I didn't expect it [the score] to get like it did, but we played our game."

Chaffee will look to make it 5-0 when it hosts arch-rival Scott City on Friday night.

Chaffee 8 16 7 7 -- 38

Portageville 0 0 0 7 -- 7

First Quarter

C -- Charlie Montgomery 5 run (Storm Estes pass from Peyton Montgomery), 5:45

Second Quarter

C -- Charlie Montgomery 3 run (Peyton Montgomery run), 7:40

C -- Peyton Montgomery 12 run (Devon Yahn pass from Peyton Montgomery), 3:30

Third Quarter

C -- Jimmy Golden 16 run (Peyton Montgomery kick), 2:20

Fourth Quarter

C -- Jimmy Golden 1 run (Peyton Montgomery kick), 7:12

P -- Hunter Cook 8 pass from Jon Garrett Kellams (Cook kick), 2:07

C P

First downs 15 5

Rushes-yards 43-257 38-53

Passing yards 97 27

Passes 6-16-0 4-11-2

Punts 5-34 7-35

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 4-0

Penalties-Yards 7-65 3-15

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Chaffee, Golden 17-111, Peyton Montgomery 9-70, Charlie Montgomery 5-33, Logan Chapman 2-32, Devon Nanny 4-9, Yahn 2-4, Thomas Robbins 2-minus 1, Austin Shaffer 1-0, team 1-minus 1. Portageville, Carlos McGee 16-53, Daniel McCray 6-11, Ben Story 4-12, Landon Deslisle 3-6, AV Banks 2-11, Montoya Covington 1-7, Kellams 4-minus 11, team 2-minus 36.

PASSING -- Chaffee, Peyton Montgomery 6-16-0-97. Portageville, Kellams 4-11-2-27.

RECEIVING -- Chaffee, Charlie Montgomery 3-54, Yahn 1-34, Layton Tenkhoff 2-9. Portageville, Story 3-19, Cook 1-8.