The Chillicothe Hornets hosted Moberly on Senior Night on a chilly evening Friday. Both teams entered with impressive resumes, Chillicothe at 4-3 and Moberly at 6-1, and the contest lived up to the billing early on.
There were fireworks from the start as Henry Hurtgen took the opening play from scrimmage 80 yards to the house to put the Hornets ahead. Less than 30 seconds into the game both teams had scored, after Collin Knox returned the ensuing kickoff back for a Spartans touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. The offensive firepower remained on display with both teams trading touchdowns. Through the first three quarters neither team led by more than one possession.
Moberly went ahead on a Keegan Graves five yard run to grab their first lead at 14-7. Then in the 2nd quarter Chillicothe grabbed the momentum after Ezra Leppin intercepted a Spartans pass and the Hornets capitalized with another touchdown from a senior running back, this time Cooper Robinson. Moberly went back ahead inside the final two minutes of the half when quarterback Jarin Tydings connected with Kaden Abel on a juggling deflected deep ball. Moberly held a 21-14 advantage at the break.
The Hornets came up with their 2nd interception early in the 3rd quarter on an exceptional defensive play from Dallyn Bailey. Once again Chillicothe turned the takeaway into points as Hurtgen rushed for his 2nd TD, however the extra point was unsuccessful and Moberly maintained a one point lead.
The Spartans slowly began to create some separation with three consecutive scoring drives combined with back to back Hornets punts. Collin Knox rushed for a touchdown, Graves caught a pass on a 4th down for his 2nd score and then Knox was all alone behind the defense for the third passing touchdown on the night from Tydings to extend the Moberly lead out to 41-20 in the 4th quarter.
The Hornets continued to battle, with Henry Hurtgen finding the end zone for the third time. The senior tailback tallied 200 yards on the ground for the 6th time this season. Moberly fielded the onside attempt from Chillicothe and the Spartans ran out the clock to preserve the 41-26 victory.
Chillicothe is now 4-4 and will play their final regular season game in a conference matchup at Benton next Friday.