What We Saw: Chesnee 21, Batesburg-Leesville 10

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BATESBURG-LEESVILLE | </strong>The measurements list Chesnee wide receiver <strong>Kaylob Blanton</strong> (pictured left) as 6-feet and 144 pounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Those numbers are greatly outsized by the senior's playing abilities and other talents he brings to the Eagles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friday night at Bateburg-Leesville, Blanton was a factor on both sides of the football in the 21-10 win. He scored on a game-tying 46-yard touchdown pass from quarterback/defensive lineman <strong>Kjay Proctor</strong> (pictured right) to end the first half in which he got behind two Batesburg-Leesville defenders in the endzone. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“It wasn't designed to go to me,” Blanton said. “But I told my quarterback ‘Just trust me. Give me a chance' and that's exactly what he did. He trusted me with that deep ball. He threw it and made a play to go get it.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Along with a 26-yard reception in the second half to set up a second touchdown run by <strong>Austin Bigford</strong>; Blanton prevented a score at cornerback. As Panthers' running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592414' first='KD' last='Whitt']</strong> raced towards the goal line, he was chased down and tackled by Blanton who then stripped away the football.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was one of four turnovers forced by the Eagles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“You look at some of our kids and you look at him, you probably wouldn't think he's one of the fastest kids,” Chesnee head coach Clay Lewis said. “But Kaylob's pretty fast. He's a very smart football player. He runs good routes. He' knows how to get open. He's a heck of a football player.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For most of the first half, Batesburg-Leesville used its backfield to control the game. The trio of Whitt, <strong>Amadre Wooden</strong> and <strong>Legend Tolen</strong> found success running behind offensive linemen <strong>Matthew Howard</strong>, <strong>Moises Gonzales</strong>, <strong>JaMarcus Williams</strong>, <strong>Tanner Fulmer</strong> and <strong>Ty Anderson</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Midway in the first quarter, Tolen ran up the middle for a 57-yard touchdown. It was the only time Batesburg-Leesville crossed the endzone as mistakes and Chesnee's defense impeded its progress.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Turnovers,” Batesburg-Leesville head coach Greg Lawson said. “The first half, we had a chance to go up 21-0. We fumbled the ball going in. We fumbled the ball when we got a big first down and you're driving on the drive that's inside (Chesnee's Red Zone), and you fumble the football there. You can't give up a Hail Mary towards the end of the game. You've got to get back”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Batesburg-Leesville appeared to have regrouped to open the second half. The Panthers drove 80 yards before settling on a 34-yard field goal by <strong>Felix Juarez-Diaz</strong> to take the lead at 10-7.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eagles answered with a 7-minute scoring drive of its own. With Proctor running keepers and making quick throws for first downs, they answered the Panthers' score with a 1-yard touchdown by Bigford to take a 14-10 lead in the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Batesburg-Leesville had little success running the football the rest of the game. Aside from three long receptions by Cole Price from quarterback <strong>Tanner Watkins</strong>, the Panthers' offense was stalled the rest of the way.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lewis credited the pressure upfront placed by defensive ends Proctor and <strong>Bradley Myers</strong>, tackles <strong>Wesley Wilkie</strong> and<strong> Aiden Allen</strong>. He also said the coverage of the secondary with Blanton, <strong>Adonis Burgess</strong>, <strong>Jarred Bishop,</strong> and <strong>Hayden Webb</strong> and inside containment of linebackers <strong>Quinton Gerstenacker </strong>and <strong>Gunter Gerstenacker</strong> and <strong>Jayden Williams</strong> made a difference.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bateburg-Leesville's final drive ended with a forced fumble recovered by the Eagles on fourth down to end the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Our kids just kept playing,” Lewis said. “The first half, I didn't think we played well offensively. Made a couple of mistakes. I though our defense kept us in it in the first half. The second half, we kind of gained a little bit of momentum and bottom line, our kids kept playing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We talked about at halftime don't worry about a score. Just keep playing. We're playing a team that's got speed on the field and we've got to play fast, and I thought our kids just gutted it out and did what they had to do to get a win there.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chesnee (6-5) stays on the road next week to face top-seed Gray Collegiate.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->