Chaffee rallies to prolong Grandview's losing streak

~ The Red Devils won 12-6 and pushed the Eagles' skid to 36 games

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Sophomore Trevor Cannon snatched the ball after watching it pop into the air.

"I came down with it and my first thought was get to the ground," he said.

Cannon's interception ensured his Chaffee Red Devils would not be stuck with the dubious distinction of ending Grandview's losing streak.

Cannon picked off Grandview quarterback Steven Capranica in the closing minutes to preserve Chaffee's 12-6 victory Friday.

"I just read the quarterback's eyes as he was turning," Cannon said. "The guy was running across and I was following right behind him. Our middle linebacker, Cody Enderle, hit him as he caught it and it bounced off his shoulder. I just seen it go up and I jumped up to get it."

Grandview was the team Chaffee beat in the 2006 season opener to snap the Red Devils' 34-game losing streak. Grandview's losing streak sits at 36 after Friday's loss.

"We just wanted to beat them," Chaffee senior Nathan Cicardi said. "They're a really good team. They're really improved. They're going to win some games this year, I guarantee it."

For more than three quarters, it looked like Grandview would pull off the stunner. Chaffee was unable to move the ball and the Eagles had punched it into the end zone in the first quarter.

But the Red Devils' offense awakened in the fourth quarter. After the defense forced a punt, Chaffee managed a pair of first downs with some misdirection on the run. That's when sophomore quarterback Jordan Yahn attacked. He lofted a pass to a wide-open Mike Rutherford for a 55-yard touchdown pass. Rutherford had to slow down to wait for the football to arrive before barely beating the defense into the end zone.

"We finally started getting on our blocks," Yahn said. "We got our momentum back on defense. We just took advantage of taking that momentum and turned it into two touchdown passes."

The Chaffee defense stepped up two plays later when Tyson Estes intercepted Capranica at the Grandview 35-yard line. Chaffee used eight plays to get to the 1-yard line on thord down, but Yahn was stopped for a 2-yard loss on fourth down to snuff out the drive.

But Chaffee was undeterred.

"We just said forget about that, keep a short memory and take it to the next play and we'll get it next time," Yahn said.

The Red Devils' defense delivered its second turnover of the fourth quarter to set up the offense. Enderle recovered a fumble at the Grandview 14-yard line and Chaffee's offense was in business again.

After Yahn was stopped for a 1-yard loss on the first play, he zipped a pass to Cicardi, who raced 15 yards for the score.

"I had a feeling it was coming to me because me and Jordan have a connection," Cicardi said. "The line blocked great on that play. All the credit goes to them, the fourth quarter, second half. They got on their blocks really good. Jordan had all the time in the world on that last play."

It was Yahn's second touchdown pass in his varsity debut, and both times he hit a wide-open receiver.

"There's just a little bit more pressure, but I just try to relax as much as I can," he said about throwing to an open receiver. "That's all I need to do to play well."

Grandview started moving the ball on its ensuing possession with four straight completions. The Eagles moved into Chaffee territory before Cannon snared the game-clinching interception.

The Chaffee defense showed patience against Grandview's spread offense. The Eagles threw the ball 32 times but only completed 16 for 127 yards. The Red Devils said they prepared all week for the pass-happy attack.

"Going into it, we knew it was just going to be pass, pass, pass," Cannon said. "The running game, their quarterback was so deep and their running back was so close, he had to take three or four steps up, and by then you read it."

Grandview 6 0 0 0 -- 6

Chaffee 0 0 0 12 -- 12

First Quarter

G -- Nick Robinson 17 pass from Steven Capranica (pass failed), 4:37

Fourth Quarter

C -- Mike Rutherford 55 pass from Jordan Yahn (run failed), 10:30

C -- Nathan Cicardi 15 pass from Yahn (pass failed), 3:08

G C

First downs 10 12

Rushes-yards 13-31 44-134

Passing yards 127 90

Passes 16-32-3 7-14-0

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 2-1

Penalties-Yards 7-54 6-33

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Grandview, Steven Capranica 5-9, Cody Schroeder 3-5, Robby Allen 4-18, Brady Reed 1-(minus) 1. Chaffee, Daniel Lawson 5-8, Jordan Yahn 19-31, Zach Dannenmueller 10-40, Trevor Cannon 4-4, Nathan Cicardi 5-42, Tyson Estes 1-9.

PASSING -- Grandview, Steven Capranica 16-32-127-3. Chaffee, Jordan Yahn 7-14-90-0.

RECEIVING -- Grandview, Cody Schroeder 3-14, Macklin Parks 3-47, Robby Allen 5-19, Nick Robinson 5-47. Chaffee, Daniel Lawson 2-(minus) 1, Mike Rutherford 4-76, Nathan Cicardi 1-15.