Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

CHESAPEAKE — In what was billed as an elimination game the Chesapeake Panthers were more like the Terminator.
The Panthers picked up a critical win as they routed the Portsmouth Trojans 48-13 on Friday.
Chesapeake is now 6-1 overall and stays one game behind Ironton in the Ohio Valley Conference race at 3-1. It also gave the Panthers 22.5 computer points to enhance their postseason chances.
“We played well. We executed well on offense. We’ve had three tough games in a row. It was a good win for us,” said Panthers’ coach Andy Clark.
“Defensively we were able to get them off the field. We got some stops when we needed.”
Portsmouth falls to 4-3 overall and probably out of contention in the OVC at 2-2.
The Panthers’ Casey McComas had an Arnold Schwarzenegger performance as he ran nine times for 206 yards and two touchdowns and also returned a fumble for a score.
Cecil Fletcher added 79 yards on five carries and Ty Wilcoxon ran four times for 53 yards and had a punt return for a score.
Chesapeake finished the game with 411 total yards — all on the ground.
Portsmouth finished with 224 total yards including 191 rushing. Taylyn Parker carried 15 times for 108 yards with Luke Purdy added 36 yards rushing and 34 passing.
With Portsmouth driving to start the game, McComas stripped Austin Lansing of the football and then scooped up the ball and ran it 72 yards for a touchdown. Dalton Nida kicked the conversion for a 7-0 lead with 9:30 on the clock.
Fletcher came right back and ran 33 yards for a touchdown just before the end of the quarter and it was 13-0.
Chesapeake continued to make big plays as McComas ran 28 yards for a touchdown with 9:43 left in the half and it was 20-0.
J.W. Bartrum shook free for a 16-yard scoring run with 4:15 to go in the quarter and it was 27-0 at the half.
Portsmouth recovered the second half kickoff and scored on a 25-yard pass from Purdy to Ryan Williams and it was 27-7 with less than two minutes gone off the clock.
But the Panthers answered quickly as McComas ran 43 yards for a touchdown 40 seconds later and it was 34-7.
Portsmouth was forced to punt on its next possession and Wilcoxon returned the kick 60 yards for a touchdown.
Chesapeake finished their scoring as Fletcher ran 4 yards to start the fourth quarter.
Portsmouth’s final scored came on a 1-yard run by Purdy midway through the quarter.
Next Friday Chesapeake is at South Point and Portsmouth hosts Fairland in OVC games.
Portsmouth       0    0    7    6    =    13
Chesapeake    13    14    14    7    =    48
First Quarter
Ch — Casey McComas 72 fumble return (Dalton Nida kick) 9:30
Ch — Cecil Fletcher 33 run (run failed) 1:41
Second Quarter
Ch — Casey McComas 28 run (Dalton Nida kick) 9:43
Ch — J.W. Bartrum 16 run (Dalton Nida kick) 4:15
Third Quarter
Prt — Ryan Williams 25 pass from Luke Purdy (Narion Willis kick) 10:50
Ch — Casey McComas 43 run (Dalton Nida kick) 10:10
Ch — Ty Wilcoxon 60 punt return (Dalton Nida kick) 8:16
Fourth Quarter
Ch — Cecil Fletcher 4 run (Dalton Nida kick) 11:01
Prt — Luke Purdy 1 run (kick failed) 6:26
——
Prt    Ch
First downs    11    18
Rushes-yards    40-191    28-411
Passing yards    33    0
Total yards    224    411
Cmp-Att-Int    2-5-1    0-4-0
Fumbles-lost    1-1    0-0
Penalties-yards    9-85    9-69
Punts-average    3-30.7    0-00.0
——
Individual Leaders
RUSHING—Portsmouth: Taylyn Parker 15-108, Austin Lansing 13-47, Luke Purdy 12-36; Chesapeake: Casey McComas 9-206, Cecil Fletcher 5-79, J.W. Bartrum 4-41, Ty Wilcoxon 4-53, Will Scott 3-18, Kamren Harless 2-11, Logan Walsh 1-3.
PASSING—Portsmouth: Luke Purdy 2-5-1 34; Chesapeake: Casey McComas 0-4-0.
RECEIVING—Portsmouth: Ryan Williams 2-33 TD; Chesapeake: None.