Chaney defense dominates in 25-7 victory over Rayen

Rick Hlinka and Kory Jackson hooked up for two touchdown passes.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Chaney High football coach Ron Berdis has watched the Cowboys' defense improve each game.
Rayen School coach Brian Shaner got a first-hand look at Chaney's defense Thursday night at Stambaugh Stadium and called it the best he's seen this year.
"Boy, they fly to the football," Shaner said after the Cowboys limited the Tigers to 78 yards of offense in a 25-7 City Series win.
"They're not big like Chaney teams of the past, but they are hungry and fast," Shaner said. "They're a good ball club.
"If you're going to say that this isn't a good Chaney team, you better look at the three teams they lost to," Shaner said.
The Cowboys' three losses have come to Austintown Fitch (7-0), Canal Fulton Northwest (7-0) and Newark (5-2).
"Our defense played great," Berdis said. "What a time like tonight for our team to have that kind of defensive performance."
Halftime edge
The Cowboys (5-3, 2-0 City) kept Rayen in check in the first half while opening up a 18-7 lead.
Chaney took the opening kickoff and marched 70 yards in 11 plays.
The first 10 plays were runs by Lamar Sykes, Dan Balog and Mike Rosa. Play No. 11 was a perfect 31-yard scoring strike from quarterback Rick Hlinka to split end Kory Jackson. Balog's extra-point kick gave Chaney a 7-0 lead.
& quot;We didn't know if we'd have Jackson because of an ankle injury," Berdis said. "He kind of went on guts tonight.
"We didn't have a game plan geared toward him so we kind of winged a couple things and he made some big plays for us," Berdis said.
Jackson and Hlinka also hooked up on a 21-yard touchdown play in the third quarter.
Mixed offense
Hlinka completed 9-of-14 passes for 112 yards to supplement Chaney's usual strong running game.
"We didn't give their team enough credit at the quarterback position," Shaner said. "[Hlinka] made some nice throws that were right on target and we weren't ready for that."
Despite the strong night by Chaney, Rayen (4-4, 1-1) was in the game if not for several key turnovers.
A fumble on a kickoff return after Chaney's first score set up Balog's 31-yard scoring run to give Chaney a 15-0 first-quarter lead.
A turnover by Rayen in the fourth quarter enabled Chaney to stop a potential Tiger drive and put the game away.
Rayen's only score was set up by a Chaney turnover.
Early in the third quarter, Korey McMillan intercepted Hlinka and to give the Tigers the ball near midfield.
Rayen marched to their only score in six plays and scored on a 10-yard run by Dwayne Smith.
Chaney was led in rushing by Sykes, who gained 75 yards on 30 carries and went over 700 yards for the season.
Balog added 59 yards in eight rushes.
Smith was Rayen's leading rusher with 25 yards in eight carries.