The Chillicothe Hornets football team was on the road as the #3 seed in the Class 3 District 8 tournament semi-final against #2 Richmond.
The first half featured strong defense on both sides. Richmond scored first on a 38 yard screen pass from Jacob Lieberknecht to Brice Dome in the first quarter. Chillicothe moved the ball into Richmond territory three times in the first half, but a fumble and an interception prevented the Hornets from scoring any first half points. In the final two minutes before halftime, Richmond added a touchdown, as quarterback Lieberknecht kept it on the ground and the Spartans led 12-0.
The 3rd quarter was scoreless on both sides, highlighted by the Chillicothe defenses forcing a fumble for a turnover, and coming up with a 4th down stand in the red-zone to impede Richmond from adding to their advantage.
The 4th quarter was full of fireworks, signified by Henry Hurtgen scoring from 19 yards out on the first play to cut the margin in half. The Hornets forced Richmond into a three and out punt and got the ball back trailing 12-6. Chillicothe compiled an impressive drive converting multiple 4th downs including a 33 yard completion by Landon Bailey to Jaishon White on 4th and 13 that brought the ball inside the 5 yard line. Hurtgen ran in his 2nd score of the quarter on the ensuing play and after the extra point Chillicothe went ahead 13-12.
The Hornets lead was short lived however, two plays later on 2nd and 10, Lieberknecht took a deep shot down the left sideline. Malikiah Tharp caught the ball through a pass interference flag and took the play to the house for a 70 yard touchdown. Now trailing 18-13 with 5 minutes to play, the Hornets had seemingly picked up a first down behind hard running from Hurtgen, but at the end of the play before the whistle had blown and prior to the runner down by contact, the ball was stripped away from the pile and Richmond’s Bryson Pruitt was running the other way uncontested for a defensive touchdown.
Trailing by 11 late, Chillicothe scored on a deep pass from Bailey to Cooper Robinson, but the onside kick was unsuccessful and the Spartans held on for a 24-19 victory. Richmond will play Maryville for the Class 3 District 8 championship. Chillicothe’s season ends with a 4-7 mark.