Herscher pulls away from Charleston in second half for 41-30 win

By Rob Calhoun

Charleston was not able to overcome a late start and some big plays as the Trojans lost to Herscher 41-30 in the high school football opener for both teams Friday night.

The game started almost one hour later than scheduled due to a JV game played before the varsity took the field.

The Tigers took the opening kickoff. The defense of the Trojans was solid, holding Herscher to a three-and-out before forcing a short punt.

Charleston was able to take advantage of the excellent field position, converting twice on third down. The Trojans found the end zone as Brett Spour hit Chet Shrader on a nine-yard pass to make it 6-0.

The lead was short lived as Herscher was able to march right down the field thanks to a pair of good runs by QB Brock Wenzelman. The Tigers tied the score on a 30-yard pass from Wenzelman to Travis Jones.

Charleston struck back in the second quarter to retake the lead. The Trojans took the ball down the field, using 16 plays before it stalled. Freshman kicker Max Weber connected on a 23-yard field goal to make it 9-6. Weber, who plays soccer, had scored a goal against Mattoon in the team’s 4-2 win on Thursday.

Things were looking good as Charleston was able to force a three-and-out on Herscher’s next possession. On the ensuing punt, the Trojans were called for an illegal substitution penalty. The Tigers, subsequently, went for it after the infraction on 4th-and-2 and converted. Jones then scored his second touchdown on the night, catching a 49-yard pass from Wenzelman to make it 12-9.

On the kickoff, Charleston muffed a short kick and Herscher recovered the ball at the CHS 25. Clay Schultz later took it in from one yard out moments later to give the Tigers an 18-9 lead at the half.

Then the fireworks began.

Langdon King took the second-half kickoff 85 yard for a score that moved Charleston within 2.

But Herscher responded on its next offensive play, Wenzelman running 80 yards for a score. Jones then scored on a three-yard run to give the Tigers a 31-16 lead going into the final quarter.

Jeremiah Hayes and Spour scored touchdowns in the fourth quarter for Charleston, sandwiching a score by Herscher’s Clay Schultz score.

Hailey King added a 25-yard field goal for the final score of the game. She was late to the game due to playing volleyball earlier for the Tigers.

Charleston, now 0-1, will play Lincoln at Trojan Hill on Friday at 7 p.m.

	1	2	3	4	F
Charleston	6	3	7	14 –	30
Herscher	6	12	13	10 –	41

SCORING

1	5:39	CHS	Chet Shrader	9	Pass	pass failed
	2:20	HER	Travis Jones	30	Pass	run failed
2	5:35	CHS	Max Weber	23	Field Goal
	2:09	HER	Travis Jones	49	Pass	run failed
	0:11	HER	Clay Schultz	1	Run	Kick Missed
3	11:47	CHS	Langdon King	85	KO Return	Max Weber
	11:33	HER	Brock Wenzelman	80	Run	Hailey King
	2:56	HER	Travis Jones	3	Run	Kick Missed
4	9:11	CHS	Jeremiah Hayes	15	Run	Max Weber
	8:09	HER	Clay Schultz	72	Run	Hailey King
	4:31	CHS	Brett Spour	26	Run	Max Weber
	0:53	HER	Hailey King	25	Field Goal

CHS		HERSCHER
3-10	3rd down conversions	4-7
1	Turnovers	1
1	Fumbles	0
0	Interceptions	1
277	Total yards	447
87	Passing Yards	105
190	Rushing yards	342

TEAM STATS

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Rushing

CHS: Jeremiah Hayes 12-112 1 TD; Brett Spour 10-64 1 TD; Langdon King 3-9; Malik Perry 2-6; Cody Bell 1-3; Aiden Burnett 1-(-4); Ben Coffey 1-(-8)

HHS: Clay Schultz 14-144 2 TD; Brock Wenzelman 16-116 1 TD; Travis Jones 2-7 1 TD; Jaxon Ruder 2-7

Passing

CHS: Brett Spour 12-26 117 1 TD 1 INT

HHS: Brock Wenzelman 9-18 111 2 TD

Receiving

CHS: Langdon King 4-38; Luke Nelson 2-29; Chet Shrader 2-25 1 TD; Cody Bell 2-16; Scott King 1-5; Jacob Roe 1-4

HHS: Travis Jones 4-85 2 TD; AJ Patrick 1-12; Luke Richmond 1-9; Jaxon Ruder 2-5; Clay Schultz 1-(-3)