Chaffee marches past Hayti into district football semifinals

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Their hopes of an undefeated season may have came to an end last week against Charleston, but the Chaffee Red Devils got back to their winning ways when it mattered most.

With Peyton Montgomery back under center after a one game absence, the Red Devils punched in two late scores Friday to down the Hayti Indians 34-12 in the opening round of the Class 1, District 1 tournament.

"We never really got in sync offensively, but Peyton is getting a lot better as he's going," Chaffee coach Charlie Vickery said about his second-seeded Red Devils who are ranked No. 10 in Class 1. "We didn't throw it much tonight at all, and really that's our game. I think [Peyton] will be a lot better even next week."

Montgomery's start comes after a shoulder strain left him sidelined as Chaffee (9-1) attempted a late comeback only to fall 43-28 to the Bluejays last Friday. That time off, however, allowed Montgomery to rejoin practice this week and get ready for Hayti.

Though he only attempted eight passes against the Indians, Vickery admitted the junior's presence under center boosted the Red Devils confidence as they entered the biggest game of the season.

Chaffee’s Storm Estes intercepts a Hayti pass in front of Hayti’s Devan Riddick during the first quarter of the Class 1 District 1 first-round game Friday in Chaffee, Mo. Chaffee won 34-12. (Fred Lynch)

Montgomery completed only two of those passes for 27 yards, but he contributed 63 yards and two touchdowns on the ground to help Chaffee's rushing attack finish with 205 yards.

"Our offense was a little off tempo," Montgomery said. "I only practiced half the week [because of the injury] and we weren't clicking from last week and everything. Our offensive line did a really good job. We really stepped up in the second half. We made some adjustments, our line moved their feet and did a really good job."

After taking a 22-6 lead into the fourth, Chaffee saw seventh-seeded Hayti (2-7) mount a comeback with a 12-yard touchdown strike from Kenyate Brooks to Brandon Burden on the first play of the quarter. An ensuing run on the two-point conversion was stuffed leaving the Indians trailing 22-12 with 11:54 to play.

Chaffee responded on their next possession with a 52-yard drive that was capped when Montgomery found the end zone on a two-yard quarterback keeper. An unsuccessful two-point conversion followed, making it a 16-point game at 28-12.

Hayti attempted to respond but turned the ball over on downs after Chaffee's defense made a crucial stand on the 49-yard line. The Red Devils marched down the field and scored on 8-yard touchdown run from Charlie Montgomery with 4:46 to play to make the score 34-12 and an essentially seal the outcome.

"Our defense stopped them and coach told us we have to put the nail in the coffin," Peyton Montgomery said. "I think that's what we did."

As prolific as their offense has been this season, it was the Red Devils' defense stepping up to give Chaffee a 22-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

Chaffee was stopped on its first offensive possession, but the Red Devils defense went on to pick off three straight Hayti passes to fuel the 22-point run.

The first pick came from Storm Estes and set up Chaffee at the Hayti 2.

A handoff to Jimmy Golden on the next play put Chaffee on the board before Peyton Montgomery found Charlie Montgomery on the two-point conversion to go up 8-0.

Devon Yahn intercepted Hayti's next pass and returned it for a 45-yard 'pick-six' to put the Red Devils up 14-0.

Charlie Montgomery kept the streak going by intercepting the first pass of Hayti's next drive, but the Red Devils' offense stalled at the Indians' 32.

A 14-yard run from Peyton Montgomery, followed by a two-point run from Charlie Montgomery, gave the Red Devils a 22-0 lead 8:24 before the half.

The Indians got on the scoreboard on their next drive with Brooks finding Demetrius Luster for a 14-yard touchdown.

"The one thing a lot of people don't see from the stands is the fact that we played nine freshmen tonight," Hayti coach Neal Cruce said. "They played significant minutes, including five that started. Four started on offense alone.

"Those kids hung in there and fought. You can't ask much more out of freshmen."

Hayti's Maurice Farr intercepted a pass early in the second half to give the Indians possession at the Chaffee 11. With a chance to make it a one-score game, they instead were driven back by the Red Devils and turned the ball over on downs at the 22-yard line.

Despite a fourth-quarter scoring drive, Cruce cited a rotation of only 17 players as a critical factor in wearing his team down as they fought down the stretch.

"We didn't have the depth and we didn't have the energy to keep going," Cruce said. "We were starting to cramp and were starting to get tired. These guys have played every single snap of the entire game, including special teams, and they're just starting to wear. Chaffee had a few more horses than we did and they just wore us down."

Brooks finished the night 19 of 38 for 169 yards and two touchdowns.

For Chaffee, Golden led the rushing attack with 93 yards on 17 carries. The bulk of yards came in the second half when he had four runs of 11 yards or more, including two 16-yard runs.

Chafee will host third-seeded Thayer (6-4), which defeated sixth-seeded Crystal City 43-0, at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the district semifinals.

Hayti 0 6 0 6 -- 12

Chaffee 14 8 0 12 -- 34

First Quarter

C -- Jimmy Golden 2 run (Peyton Montgomery pass to Charlie Montgomery good), 7:16

C -- Devon Yahn 45 interception return (Peyton Montgomery pass no good), 6:53

Second Quarter

C -- Peyton Montgomery 14 run (Charlie Montgomery run good), 8:24

H -- Kenyate Brooks 14 pass to Demetrius Luster (Kenyate Brooks pass bad), 5:37

Fourth Quarter

H -- Kenyate Brooks 12 pass to Brnadon Burden (Cedric Fields run bad), 11:54

C -- Peyton Montgomery 2 run (Peyton Montogmery run bad), 8:44

C -- Charlie Montgomery 8 run (Peyton Montgomery pass bad), 4:46

H C

Total yards 205 232

Rushes-yards 21-36 48-205

Passing yards 169 27

Comp.-Att.-Int. 19-38-3 2-8-1

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing -- Hayti, Kenyate Brooks 13-(-5), Cedric Fields 7-23, Demetrius Luste 1-18; Chaffee, Devon Yahn 3-11, Peyton Montgomery 9-63, Jimmy Golden 17-93, Charlie Montgomery 14-36, Logan Chapman 2-1, Thomas Robbins 2-1, Brennan Miller 1-0.

Passing -- Hayti, Kenyate Brooks 19-38-3 169; Chaffee, Peyton Montgomery 2-8-1 27

Receiving -- Hayti, Devan Riddick 4-33, Dayon Moore 6-56, Reginold Ford 4-48, Demetrius Luster 4-20, Brandon Burden 1-12; Chaffee, Charlie Montgomery 1-9, Layton Tenkoff 1-18.