Kelly spoils Chaffee's homecoming in 48-18 win

As the Chaffee homecoming court made its way across the field during the introduction following Friday night's football game, a familiar victory dance already had begun on the far Kelly sideline.

Coach Kenneth Riedinger's first-year varsity football program has been invited, or been on the menu, for three homecoming game's this year with the undoubtable expectation they might be a good opponent to add to the festive atmosphere.

"This is the third one, I think, and we've gotten over a 20-point lead on them," said Hawks junior running back Ethan Faires, who had rushed for 211 yards in the game. "It feels good."

The Red Devils of Chaffee found out, much like the Bluejays of Charleston and the Pilots of Fulton County, Kentucky, that the Hawks make for bad homecoming guests.

Kelly reigned on another homecoming gathering, rolling out to a 28-point lead by halftime and defeating Chaffee 48-18.

It was the Hawks' fourth win overall as they closed the regular-season portion of their schedule with a 4-5 mark.

"We've been to a lot of homecomings, and I don't think we've lost one yet," Riedinger said. "It's always hard to get your kids prepared for homecoming, when you're hosting it."

Chaffee running back Devon Nanney carries against Kelly's Bryan Rogers during the first quarter Friday, Oct. 17, 2014 in Chaffee, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

Riedinger said he is not surprised by all the homecoming invites.

"Yeah, and we're glad to spoil them," he said

The Class 2 Hawks wasted little time in establishing their intent, plowing 79 yards off the opening kickoff for the first of three first-quarter touchdowns against Chaffee, which fell to 0-8.

The Hawks overcame three 5-yard procedure penalties on the drive, with Faires taking the first carry of the game over the right side, which would become a recurring theme throughout the night. He carried four times on the 12-play drive, which also included four completions to senior receiver Dalton Huffman. Hawks sophomore quarterback Kyle Fitzgerald ran for first downs on two fourth-and-1 plays on the drive, and he capped the opening march with an 8-yard scoring pass to Huffman with 6 minutes, 28 seconds left in the first quarter.

"Everybody just kind of clicked," Huffman said. "Our quarterback did real well. He showed them what we could do. Our line was real great and our receivers did their job."

Kelly wide receiver Maurice Davis tries to break free from Chaffee's Kodi Ballard during the first quarter Friday, Oct. 17, 2014 in Chaffee, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

Chaffee picked up two first downs on the ensuing possession, but disaster struck on the second first-and-10 at the Kelly 36. The Hawks put heavy pressure on Red Devils quarterback Jordan Wilburn, who dropped back to pass on the play, and hit him as he released a pass into the right flat. The lateral pass was ruled a fumble, which was scooped up by Kelly's Bryan Rogers and returned 54 yards for a touchdown at the 3:27 mark.

The Red Devils again drove into Kelly territory on their next possession, but the drive died when a fourth-and-7 pass went off the hands of a Chaffee receiver.

Kelly took over at its own 34, and on the first play Faires burst through the right side of the line, cut back to the left and outraced the Chaffee defense for a 66-yard touchdown for a 21-0 lead with 41 seconds left in the quarter.

Chaffee's next possession ended on downs at the Kelly 21, and the Hawks needed eight plays to cover the distance. Junior Maurice Davis did the scoring honors with a 25-yard run that included two cutbacks. Aaron Graham added the extra point, as he did on the previous three TDs, for a 28-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

Chaffee picked up three first downs on its next possession that entered Hawks territory, but was again thwarted by Rogers, who intercepted a Wilburn pass over the middle.

"I thought the first half was the worst half we played all year, but we came out the second half and did a lot better job," Chaffee coach Charlie Vickery said.

Kelly averaged 11.6 yards on its 16 rushing plays in the first half and had 254 yard yards of offense to 138 for the Red Devils.

The Red Devils, who came into the game averaging 4.8 points a game, broke loose for a season-high 18 points in the second half but saw the total surpassed by the Hawks. Both teams scored three touchdowns, but Kelly outscored Chaffee 20-18 points, with the difference being a two-point conversion pass.

Faires had 105 yards at the intermission and added 106 yards in the second half on 12 carries, with most coming in 10-yard chunks.

Faires said most of his yards came on a play called 26-Power that goes over the rights side of the line. Chaffee was powerless against it.

"We just kept running over them, bust it to the outside every time," Faires said. "They couldn't stop it. Once they would, we would go to something just a little different and we'd go right back to it, and it was there more."

Faires became the featured runner in the Hawks attack in the Week 5 win over Fulton County, when junior Matt Burford was lost for the season with a strained ACL. Faries ran for about 160 yards against Fulton County and surpassed that output against Chaffee.

"He got in behind the offensive line and stayed patient," Riedinger said. "There were times where he didn't get touched until he was 10 yards down the field, so hats off to those offensive linemen."

Chaffee, coming off a 9-2 season, has been without its two top linemen much of the season, including all-state senior Trevor Morehead. The Red Devils also saw their three-year starting quarterback Peyton Montgomery transfer to Central before his senior season and have dealt with other injuries. The tough circumstances have left them winless and staring at two-time defending Class 1 state champion Valle Catholic in the first round of district play this week.

"Any time you're a 1A or 2A, you get a few kids hurt and it definitely affects what you can do," Riedinger said. "Coach Vickery does a great job over here. He mentors a lot of people. We understood they were banged up, and we were glad to get them banged up."

Kelly, which broke a two-game skid with the win, will Class 2 District 1 play next week against a to-be determined oppenent, like either Caruthersville or East Prairie. The Hawks played their first varsity game against East Prairie, losing the Week 1 encounter 29-7. They lost to Caruthersville 60-18 in Week 7.

"We probably had better games, but coming off a losing streak it definitely felt good to win again," said Huffman, who finished with six catches for 58 yards. "A playoff game coming up this next Friday, and hopefully we can continue playing."

Fitzgerald completed 9 of 12 passes for 105 yards, and Davis finished with 63 yards rushing on five carries.

Kelly rushed for 312 yards and totaled 415 yards of offense.

Chaffee rushed for 197 yards on 42 attempts and finished with 276 yards of total offense.

Senior Logan Chapman led Chaffee with 94 yards rushing on 11 carries, while senior Jake Perkins had 77 yards on 21 carries.

Kelly 21 7 14 6 -- 48

Chaffee 0 0 12 6 -- 18

First Quarter

K -- Dalton Huffman 8 pass from Kyle Fitzgerald (Aaron Graham kick), 6:28

K -- Bryan Rogers 54-yard fumble return (Graham kick), 3:27

K -- Ethan Faires 66 run (Graham kick), :41

Second Quarter

K -- Maurice Davis 25 run (Graham kick), 5:50

Third Quarter

C -- Devon Nanney 4 run (pass failed), 10:55

K -- Huffman 11 pass from Fitzgerald (kick failed), 7:24

C -- Jordan Wilburn 3 run (pass failed), 3:04

K -- Fitzgerald 1 run (Fitzgerald pass to Huffman), :34

Fourth Quarter

K -- Graham 24 pass from Fitzgerald (kick failed), 7:45

C -- Jake Perkins 4 run (pass failed), :52

K C

First downs 22 19

Rushes-yards 39-312 42-197

Passing yards 105 79

Passes 9-12-0 9-15-1

Punts 0 0

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-1

Penalties-Yards 7-39 3-25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Kelly, Faires 22-211, Fitzgerald 5-19, Brenton James 6-8, Maurice Davis 5-63, Huffman 1-11; Chaffee, Perkins 21-77, Nanney 3-12, Logan Chapman 11-94, Wilburn 4-6, Brennan Miller 1-2, Austin Copeland 2-6.

PASSING -- Kelly, Fitzgerald 9-12-0-103; Chaffee, Wilburn 9-15-1-79.

RECEIVING -- Kelly, Huffman 6-58, Faires 1-15, Davis 1-8, Graham 1-24; Chaffee, Chapman 3-21, Perkins 3-23, Miller 1-5, Kodi Ballard 2-30