CHAPIN – Having taken a combination of knockout blows in the third quarter that would have dropped most teams for the count, the Strom Thurmond Rebels pulled themselves off the mat for a rousing comeback in a barnburner of a Week 0 contest at Chapin.

But in the end, failings on special teams, over 100 yards in penalties and other costly miscues at crucial times in the ballgame – not to mention a tremendous individual offensive effort by Eagles’ receiver Victor Frick (116 receiving yards, 52 rushing yards and two scores) – were just enough to stave off a Rebel rally for a 28-21 Chapin victory Friday night in the Midlands.

Strom Thurmond head coach Lee Sawyer said it was a night in which the Rebels let things slip through their fingers through missed opportunities on offense and poor play on special teams.

“I knew we needed to withstand the first few minutes as I knew they would be emotional and fired up, and then we get the big score on the interception,” Sawyer said. “We kind of had them on their heels there (in the second quarter) and we fumbled there at the goal line.

“We just made too many mistakes at crucial times in the game. It’s been three years since we’ve had a kickoff returned (for a touchdown) and four years since we’ve had a punt blocked and you can’t give up those scores in a game like this.”

Trailing 28-14 early in the fourth quarter after three straight scores by Chapin (1-0) in the third frame on a 75-yard pass play, a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a blocked punt returned for a score just moments later, Thurmond (0-1) quarterback Raleigh Yeldell made it a game again in the fourth after faking an inside give to Nick Williamson and racing 66 yards down the sideline for a score that cut the margin to 28-21 with 7:43 to go.

The Rebel defense stopped Chapin cold on the next offensive series for the Eagles and Thurmond went back on the attack, eventually driving – mostly on the hard running of Williamson – to inside the Chapin 10 with under two minutes remaining.

Thurmond had momentarily regained the momentum in the game and some uneasiness began to creep back into the homeside stands with the Rebels driving.

But that’s when the penalties which had been so prevalent for the Rebels on the night rose up and bit the visitors once again, driving them back outside of the “red zone” following two straight flags for holding and procedure.

That gave the Eagles’ defense just the breathing room it needed and Thurmond was unable to convert on a final fourth down play which preserved the Chapin victory.  

Yeldell, a sophomore, had a decent game at quarterback in his first start, rushing for 117 yards and passing for 64 yards with no turnovers, but the Rebels were never able to loosen the Eagles’ defense sufficiently or stretch the field in a vertical fashion. And when the Rebels appeared to have the game under control in the first half, a fumble at the goal line (running back Chris Blocker did appear to have had one or both knees down before the ball was stripped loose) snuffed a near certain score to allow the Eagles to escape a two-touchdown deficit entering the locker room at the break.

That singular event would come back to haunt Thurmond late in the ballgame as an eventual drive to tie the contest could have been one aimed instead at winning it, as the Rebels would only have needed a field goal to deliver a hard-fought victory.

Thurmond linebacker Marcelis Thompson opened the game’s scoring on defense with a beautiful pick of Chapin quarterback Michael Weimer good for 42 yards and the first score of the season. The touchdown provided a 7-0 lead for the Rebels after kicker Sam Northrop’s PAT offering sailed true with 9:45 remaining in the opening quarter.

The Eagles, however, wasted little time in delivering a response, using their wide open spread attack to drive 62 yards in just four plays before Chapin’s elusive receiver Victor Frick turned a simple bubble screen pass play into a 49-yard touchdown to tie the ballgame at 7-7 after Colden King’s PAT kick.

Stymied on offense in the opening quarter of play, the Rebels made some adjustments up front and answered back with a sustained drive in the second quarter of eight plays good for 72 yards, capped by a one-yard plunge into the end zone from Nick Williamson for a new lead at 14-7 following a Northrop extra point.

The Rebel defense then caused a fumble (recovered by freshman defensive back Hykeem Brooks) that snuffed out an Eagle drive to give Strom Thurmond the lead at halftime.

CHAPIN 28, STROM THURMOND 21

Strom Thurmond   7      7      0      7       -       21
Chapin    7       0       21       0       -       28

First Quarter
ST- Marcelis Thompson 42 interception return (Sam Northrop kick), 9:45
C- Michael Weimer 49 pass to Victor Frick (Colden King kick), 7:42

Second Quarter
ST- Nick Williamson 1 run (Northrop kick), 8:05

Third Quarter
C – Jalen Pauling 90 yard kickoff return (King kick), 11:26
C – Weimer 75 pass to Frick (King kick), 5:30
C – Pauling 7 blocked punt return (King kick), 3:02

Fourth Quarter
ST - Yeldell 66 run (Northrop kick), 7:43