The Chillicothe Hornets football team earned the 3 seed in the Class 3 District 8 tournament, setting up a matchup against #6 Northeast of Kansas City. In front of the home crowd at Jerry Litton Memorial Stadium, the Hornets played fast and tough from the opening kickoff looking to extend their season.
Silas Midgyett scored two touchdowns in the first quarter and eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards for the season in the process. The senior running back has now gone over 1,000 yards in each of the last three years, and tonight his production helped Chillicothe open a 14-0 lead after one quarter.
Later in the first half, Cooper Robinson threw a perfect pass to Oliver Perry for a 17 yard touchdown. Robinson’s night at quarterback was cut short due to picking up an injury while being sacked in the final minutes of the first half and Landon Bailey carried out the game in that spot.
Chillicothe’s defense pitched a shutout in the first half while recovering three fumbles, including two by Sam Wiebers. Henry Hurtgen capped off the first half scoring with a 9 yard touchdown and Chillicothe was ahead 28-0 at half.
Hurtgen then began the scoring in the 3rd quarter busting off a long 61 yard scamper, but on the ensuing kickoff, Northeast quarterback and do-it-all captain Andre Valentine returned one 80 yards to the house. With a 36-6 lead Chillicothe extended their margin with 3 consecutive touchdowns from Ezra Leppin, Logan Murrell and Drake Swift to close out the opening round district game with a 58-6 win over the Vikings.
The Hornets are now 5-5 on the season and #3 Chillicothe will travel to #2 Maryville next Friday night for the Class 3 District 8 semifinal.
