Chaffee football team steamrolls Grandview

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- The Chaffee High School football team could not have scripted a better season opener.

Chaffee dominated from start to finish during Friday night's 42-7 rout of visiting Grandview.

"We came out very strong," senior quarterback Jordan Yahn said. "We came out with a lot of intensity and we were just focused the whole game."

The Red Devils earned their first playoff berth since 1983 last year but started the season 0-3, including a 14-0 loss at Grandview in the opener.

"We felt like last year we should have beat them," senior Alex Davie said. "We wanted to come out strong tonight."

Chaffee's Charlie Montgomery runs away from Grandview's Ryan Murray and Joey Graff during the third quarter Friday in Chaffee, Mo. Check out more photos in our gallery at semoball.com. (Fred Lynch)

While the 2010 Red Devils earned a postseason berth, their record only was 4-7. They have their sights set quite a bit higher this season with a host of key players returning.

"We really want to go a long way," senior lineman Matt Cox said. "We worked hard all summer. We came in the weight room at 6 in the morning."

Chaffee left little doubt against Grandview by suffocating the Eagles with its defense.

The Red Devils held Grandview to just 32 first-half yards in opening a 28-0 lead at the intermission.

It was 42-0 through three quarters. Grandview finished with 147 yards, but nearly 100 of those came in the final period against Chaffee's deep reserves.

"Our defense really got after it," Davie said.

Chaffee, which had 180 yards at halftime and finished with 280, got three short touchdown runs by Yahn, from 2 yards, 1 yard and 1 yard.

Yahn also threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Davie.

Senior Tyson Estes scored on a 10-yard run and added a 2-point conversion -- he gained 68 yards on 13 carries from his tailback spot -- while coming up with two big quarterback sacks from his linebacker position.

The Red Devils' defense also came up with a touchdown when sophomore Layton Tenkhoff scooped up a fumble caused by an Estes sack and raced 10 yards to the end zone.

"I thought we played hard," Chaffee coach Charlie Vickery said. "We didn't have too many penalties for the first game [four for 25 yards]. It's a good start."

Perhaps Chaffee's most impressive player was sophomore Charlie Montgomery, although he didn't score.

Montgomery started in the secondary but saw limited action on offense last year. That wasn't the case Friday.

Montgomery, who started at wide receiver, showed the type of offensive weapon he can be in a variety of ways. He rushed for 130 yards on just seven carries, a few on wide receiver pitches and a few at tailback after Estes left early in the third quarter with leg cramps.

"He's a good receiver and a good running back," Vickery said. "He's got a lot of natural moves."

The speedy, elusive Montgomery ripped off five runs of at least 18 yards. He also caught three passes for 35 yards.

"The blocking was really good," Montgomery said.

The soft-spoken Montgomery downplayed his speed.

"I'm one of the fastest but not the fastest," he said.

Chaffee scored the second time it had the ball, needing to go just 42 yards after a short Grandview punt. Estes' 10-yard run and Yahn's first of four extra points made it 7-0 with 3 minutes, 41 seconds left in the opening period.

The Red Devils then took advantage of consecutive Grandview miscues to dig the Eagles a big hole.

A bad snap on a punt attempt set up Chaffee at the Eagles' 4-yard line. Yahn sneaked over from a yard out on second down to make it 14-0 with a minute remaining in the quarter.

Then Chaffee's defense struck. On third-and-12 from the Grandview 31, Estes swooped in to sack Eagles quarterback Andrew Holland.

The ball came loose and rolled backward before Tenkhoff picked it up at the 10 and waltzed untouched into the end zone on the final play of the period for a 20-0 bulge.

"That was a big play," Vickery said.

Chaffee drove 77 yards late in the opening half, scoring on the Yahn to Davie pass with 3:28 left to go up 28-0.

The second half was pretty much a formality. Another long drive, this time covering 78 yards, led to Yahn's 2-yard sneak with 6:07 remaining in the third quarter for a 35-0 lead that signaled the start of the running clock.

Yahn's 1-yard sneak with 51 seconds left in the third made it 42-0. Senior Zach Dannenmueller set up the 29-yard drive with a 21-yard interception return.

Chaffee's deep reserves, including several freshmen, played the final period. They almost held on to the shutout, but Grandview scored with just more than a minute left.

"We saw them in their jamboree and they didn't look bad," Vickery said about the Eagles. "I thought we played well, but we just have to keep getting better."

Chaffee visits Portageville on Friday.

Grandview 0 0 0 7 -- 7

Chaffee 20 8 14 0 -- 42

First Quarter

C -- Tyson Estes 10 run (Jordan Yahn kick), 3:41

C -- Yahn 1 run (Yahn kick), 1:00

C -- Layton Tenkhoff 10 fumble return (run failed), 0:00

Second Quarter

C -- Alex Davie 19 pass from Yahn (Estes run), 3:28

Third Quarter

C -- Yahn 2 run (Yahn kick), 6:07

C -- Yahn 1 run (Yahn kick), :51

Fourth Quarter

G -- Andy Allen 42 pass from Andrew Holland (Kyle Ramsey kick), 1:02

G C

First downs 9 15

Rushes-yards 20-2 41-221

Passing yards 145 59

Passes 10-24-1 5-11-0

Punts 2-25 2-24

Fumbles-Lost 2-2 1-1

Penalties-Yards 7-40 4-25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Grandview, Christian Murray 4-24, Wes Sullivan 3-27, Ryan Murray 6-7, Curtis Kellor 1-1, Holland 3-(-16), team 3-(-41). Chaffee, Charlie Montgomery 7-130, Estes 13-68, Yahn 7-22, Thomas Robbins 3-11, Trevor Cannon 4-4, Logan Chapman 1-5, Jimmy Golden 2-4, Louie Smith 1-1, Devon Yahn 2-minus 5, team 1-(-20).

PASSING -- Grandview, Holland 10-24-1-145. Chaffee, Yahn 5-10-0-59, team 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING -- Grandview, Allen 3-67, C. Murray 3-27, Kellor 2-37, Joey Graff 1-8, Danny Nixon 1-6. Chaffee, Montgomery 3-35, Davie 2-24.