Chandler runs past Prague to clinch home playoff spot

PRAGUE – Jack Gray figured if the Chandler Lions could get their ground game going, things would open up.

Indeed they did as junior Casmen Hill ran for 197 yards on 22 carries and scored five touchdowns as Chandler knocked off the Prague Red Devils 47-14 Friday night in a Lincoln County shootout.

By virtue of the victory, Chandler (7-3 on the season and 6-1 in District 2A-2) clinched a home playoff berth Friday against Perry while Prague (7-3, 5-2) must play at Oklahoma Christian School.

“We were able to establish the running game and it opened up our rollout game. They were playing us tight,” said Gray. “We knew if we could run the ball everything would work.”

Perhaps another key factor was the Lion defense, which limited the Red Devil offense to 177 rushing yards and only three through the air. Chandler even picked up a defensive score as sophomore Alec Jackson scooped up a loose ball and sprinted 68 yards for a TD in the third quarter.

“It felt good stopping them. Their quarterback (Trip Davis) and fullback (Trevor McGinnis) are dangerous. We felt like if we could stop those two we would have a great chance,” Gray said.

Hill had touchdown runs of 15, 65, 2, 4 and 12 yards to spark the Chandler offense.

“It was good execution. We were getting stops (from the defense), getting on our blocks and just running the ball well on them.” said Hill. “I have to thank the offensive line.”

Senior quarterback Kaden Jones was a critical part of the Lion attack as he finished with 88 yards rushing on only 10 attempts and was 4-of-8 passing for 46 yards and a touchdown of 8 yards to senior Dalton Fowble.

Chandler scored off its second possession of the game, a 15-yard run by Hill to cap a short 43-yard drive to go up 6-0 with 3:08 remaining in the first.

The biggest highlight of the night for Prague came off a 74-yard scoring run from McGinnis to tie up the game at 6-all with 2:56 left in the first quarter.

But Chandler quickly answered the call on the next play from scrimmage with Hill's 65-yard run down the right sideline for a TD. Jones then hooked up with Jackson for the 2-point conversion to make it 14-6 with 2:47 to go in the first.

It remained 14-6 until the second play of the second quarter when Hill scored from 2 yards out to cap a five-play, 51-yard drive. Key plays of the series were a 10-yard pass from Jones to Stefaun Mackey and a 36-yard run by Jones off a keeper down to the 2-yard line, setting up the score on the next play. The PAT failed as the score stayed 20-6.

On the next two Chandler possessions, a fourth-and-16 conversion and third-and-13 execution kept the two drives going which led to points being put on the board.

Operating with a short 40-yard field again, the Lions overcame a holding penalty and reached the Red Devil 24-yard line. After an incompletion on third down, Chandler opted to leave its offense on the field with a fourth-and-16 situation.

Jones, off a keeper, zig-zagged his way down to the Prague 8-yard line, just enough for the first down. Hill covered the remaining distance on a pair of 4-yard runs (the second of which was a touchdown). The 2-point conversion run failed as the score remained 26-6.

Then on the next Lion possession, Chandler went 51 yards in seven plays. A Jarin Greenfield 31-yard run kick-started the series, but the most critical play was a third-and-13 at the 35 as Jones connected with Greenfield for a 20-yard pass to the Prague 15-yard line. Three players later, Jones passed to Fowble for an 8-yard score. Jones then connected with Mackey on the 2-point conversion with 19 seconds to go before halftime, making it 34-6.

Prague picked up a safety with 8:24 to go in the third off a bobbled pitch by Chandler in the end zone. The Red Devils had blown a scoring opportunity on their previous possession when a snap over the Chandler punter's head was recovered by Prague's Xavier Thornton at the Lion 5-yard run. However, the Red Devils were unable to punch the ball into the end zone.

But that led to the poor field position for Chandler which in turn led to the two points for Prague.

The Red Devils received the ball on the ensuing free kick and moved to the Lion 32, but a fumble and Jackson's scoop and return 68 yards for a touchdown broke Prague's back and led to a 40-8 Chandler advantage with 6:18 remaining in the third. The 2-point conversion run failed.

The Lions then wrapped up their scoring with 11:31 left in the fourth off Hill's 12-yard run. Hill had rambled 42 yards on the previous play to set up the score. Greenfield's PAT made it 47-8.

Prague finally got on the board again inside the final 10 seconds when freshman Grant McGinnis ripped off a 51-yard touchdown run. The ensuing conversion failed.

Trevor McGinnis finished with 103 yards on 12 carries and the one TD for the Red Devils.

This article originally appeared on The Shawnee News-Star: Chandler runs past Prague to clinch home playoff spot