Comets fall to Chickasaws, 14-0, in prep football opener
Press photo by John Burbridge Charles City senior Josh Halligan puts a hit on New Hampton quarterback Keagan John forcing a fumble, which the Chickasaws were able to recover.
Press photo by John Burbridge Comet running back Dylan Koresh gets tackled by New Hampton's Josh Fenske and Keegan Kane, but not before gaining enough yardage for a first down.
Press photo by John Burbridge Charles City senior Tre Walker makes a diving attempt to haul in a long pass from Comet QB Mike Cranshaw, but the ball fell incomplete. Defending on the play is New Hampton cornerback Braydon Fisher,
Press photo by John Burbridge Charles City senior Theo Arndt attempts to take down New Hampton's Braydon Fisher during the second half.
Turnovers doom Charles City against hosting New Hampton
By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com
NEW HAMPTON — During their opening drive of their season-opener against New Hampton on Friday, the Charles City Comets proved adept at moving the ball as well as the chains while primarily attacking on the ground.
They managed to breach into Chickasaw territory, but then a wayward pitch turned the possession over.
It would be the first of four turnovers that plagued the Comets in their 14-0 loss to New Hampton.
The Chickasaws capitalized on the first turnover as they marched downfield to eventually score on Braydon Fisher’s 6-yard run that — with an Austin Hemann PAT kick — put them up 7-0 with 6:54 left in the first quarter.
Fisher would later score his second TD from 4 yards out with 6:13 left in the third quarter as that with Hemann’s second PAT kick would cap the scoring.
Fisher would end up with 105 yards on 23 carries, but for the most part Charles City’s defense kept the Chickasaws contained through most of the game only yielding a little more than 200 yards of total offense.
New Hampton managed to move the ball deep into Comet territory on their second possession, but a sack by Charles City senior Josh Halligan helped thwart the drive and forced a punt by New Hampton junior Tanner Lane.
Lane got a friendly bounce on his 43-yard punt that was downed at the 1-yard line.
Disaster seemed imminent for the Comets as they were forced to use two timeouts while conspiring to escape from the shadow of their own goal line.
Nonetheless, Charles City managed to break free into Chickasaw territory when Comet quarterback Mike Cranshaw swung the ball to Tyreque Baker on a screen play, and Baker took advantage of several upfield blocks to find a lane down the sidelines for a 50-yard gain.
But an ensuing turnover spoiled the momentum.
After the Comets were down 14-0, they managed to put together their longest drive of the game and advanced to the New Hampton 11-yard line.
There was still time to get back in the game for Charles City, but when Keegan Kane made a brilliant diving interception on a tipped pass, it proved to be a major blow for any comeback attempt.
One of the bigger highlights for the Comets was Elliott Sinnwell’s 45-yard kickoff return after New Hampton’s first score.
Charles City (0-1) will try to rebound Friday (Sept. 1) when they host Osage.
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