Chaney in control: Cowboys trounce winless Spartans

Chaney used a ball-control offense to topple the Spartans, 47-14.
By JOHN BUTERA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN -- On a night when it scored quickly and held the ball at one point for almost 16 minutes, the Chaney High football team broke out in a big way on Friday, turning back Boardman 47-14 to gain its first win.
Chaney (1-2) got long rushing and passing touchdowns and also ran back two interceptions for scores. But, most impressive, the Cowboys controlled the ball for 15 minutes and 50 seconds at one point.
"When your defense is on the field that long," said Boardman coach D.J. Ogilvie, "nothing good is happening.
"Somewhere along the line, someone has to come up and start making plays."
Building a lead
Making plays wasn't a problem for Chaney, however, as the Cowboys scored the first two times they had the ball, building a 14-7 lead.
Then, with 9:58 left in the first half, Chaney used 13 plays to run out the clock. The unusual drive had the Cowboys advancing to the Spartan 8, using runs from Lamar Sykes and Dan Balog as well as passes to that duo from Rick Hlinka.
Hlinka was 8 of 10 for 122 yards at halftime.
Chaney took control again in the third quarter, going 65 yards over the first 5:52. Sykes, who scored twice and finished with 83 yards on 19 carries, went the final 27 yards as Chaney led 21-7.
"Obviously we wanted to keep the ball out of their hands because they have a lot of ways to attack you," said Chaney coach Ron Berdis. "I can't say enough about our mindset.
"Not scoring right before the half was bad clock management on my part. I thought I had an extra timeout."
For Boardman (0-3), things went from bad to worse in the second half.
Following a three-and-out, Chaney blocked a punt and needed just one play, a 25-yard Hlinka to Kory Jackson pass, take a 27-6 lead midway through the third quarter.
Hook up again
They hooked up again later in the game, this time for 53 yards, as Hlinka finished 11 of 14 for 209 yards.
Defensively, Chaney got a pair of scores from Dan Balog, who returned interceptions 27 and 31 yards.
"We were well-prepared in practice," said Balog. "And tonight it was there.
"Now, I hope we can get on a little roll, starting Monday with a good week of practice."