The Chillicothe Hornets traveled to Kansas City for the Class 3 District 8 semifinal against the St. Pius X Warriors on Friday night. Following the Hornets upset of Macon last weekend, the 5 seed Chillicothe was set for a matchup against the top seeded Warriors on the road.
Chillicothe gained one first down on the ground on the opening series before a 4th down pass was batted away to set up St. Pius with possession in Chillicothe territory. The Warriors needed just three plays to score, as Jake Nichols hit Brock Chisam for a 30 yard touchdown. After Chillicothe fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Nichols connected with Chisam again, for a 33 yard passing score. The Hornets moved the ball into St. Pius territory but were forced to punt and the Warriors had a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Nichols added to his big passing night in the 2nd quarter with three more touchdowns through the air. First he hit Chase Brookings for a 33 yard bomb into the endzone. Then from close range, Nichols found Brookings on a slant who lateraled the ball back to offensive lineman Kyler Kuhn, rumbling into the endzone. In the final minute of the half, Nichols dialed another deep ball up to an open Chisam and St. Pius had a 35-0 lead at half.
Nichols continued to find receivers down the field, throwing touchdown passes to Gerardo Pena and Nick LaBruzzo. The junior quarterback tallied 7 passing TDs in route to the 49-0 victory.
The Hornets season comes to an end at 5-6, under first year Head Coach Jeff Staton. Senior running back Henry Hurtgen finishes the year with 2359 rushing yards, the most in Chillicothe football history. St. Pius X will host Maryville in the district championship game.
