What We Saw: Chester Blanks Fairfield Central
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CHESTER | 12 possessions. Nine punts. Three turnovers. A lot of penalties. No points. That was the offensive summary in the first half between Chester and Fairfield Central on Friday night. But Chester’s offense came alive in the second half, accompanying…
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Continue ReadingCHESTER | 12 possessions. Nine punts. Three turnovers. A lot of penalties. No points.
That was the offensive summary in the first half between Chester and Fairfield Central on Friday night.
But Chester’s offense came alive in the second half, accompanying a stifling defense from guys like Reggie Heath Reggie Heath 6'1" | 165 lbs | ATH Chester | 2024 State SC , Darriyarn Baxley Darriyarn Baxley 5'10" | 165 lbs | LB Chester | 2026 State SC and Terry Radford Terry Radford 6'2" | 260 lbs | DL Chester | 2026 State SC throughout the night to defeat Fairfield Central, 24-0.
FIRST HALF STALEMATE
Chester was guilty of roughing the kicker penalty and the Griffins elected to go for it on 4th and 1 with 6:14 to play in the first quarter. But the Griffins had a false start penalty of their own and they punted.
Reggie Heath Reggie Heath 6'1" | 165 lbs | ATH Chester | 2024 State SC picked off Griffins quarterback Cameron McMillon Cameron McMillon 6'3" | 230 lbs | QB South Pointe | 2026 State SC with 5:05 to play in the first quarter.
Fairfield Central’s Donovan Burns got into the backfield several times, getting good penetration into the backfield. Chris Pearson Chris Pearson 6'0" | 165 lbs | DB Fairfield Central | 2025 State SC made a tackle to immediately stop a screen with 7:25 to play before halftime.
“We struggled in the first half offensively. Defense played well all night. (At) halftime, there were a few things we had to do a little differently but the guys showed up in the second half,” Chester coach Victor Floyd said.
The first half defensive highlights were topped by turnovers from both teams on back-to-back plays. The Griffins recovered a Trooper Floyd Trooper Floyd 6'1" | 190 lbs | QB Chester | 2025 State SC fumble before DJ Stevenson picked off McMillon on the next play with less than 3 minutes before the half.
SECOND HALF RESET
The first big play of the night for Chester came on a rollout from Floyd to Tyler Williams for a 33-yard completion, leading to a short Elijah Coleman Elijah Coleman 5'9" | 200 lbs | RB Clover | 2024 State SC touchdown run to break the ice at 8-0 with 5:18 to play in the third quarter.
Chester dominated Fairfield Central in yardage in the second half 225 to 37. And they won the time of possession with 15:28 to the Griffins’ 8:32. Floyd said the defense was motivated going up against a team that was putting up points in bunches.
“A lot of motivation all week. We heard (about) how good (and) how fast everybody is. It was good motivation. I think our guys just stepped up to the challenge. (I’m) really excited for them. They did what we thought they were capable of and they just showed up. It’s all about who showed up and showed out,” Floyd said.
Floyd’s favorite target in the second half was Kyan Kennedy Kyan Kennedy 6'3" | 215 lbs | TE Chester | 2024 State SC . Kennedy (pictured above) has a big frame and is tough for defenders. He connected on a play action pass from Floyd in the back of the endzone to increase the Cyclones’ lead to 16-0 with 11:53 to play in the contest. Kennedy also got in on defense and was involved in several tackles.
Floyd on Kennedy: “He’s a player, now. He’s going to be a really good player at the next level.”
Chester closed the scoring on a 4th and 19 with 3:46 to play in the game as Floyd connected with Demais Witherspoon on a shallow route and Witherspoon did the rest as the Cyclones went up 24-0.
“There were only a couple of scheme adjustments made. It was more mental and our guys getting themselves ready because Fairfield outplayed us in the trenches with our offense against their defensive line in the first half. I thought our guys, the couple of adjustments we made and them getting themselves together, they played like they were supposed to.”