Chase Jester carries for his first of seven touchdowns in the Rockets’ week five win over Hillcrest, Sept. 23. Jester rushed for a total of 383 yards, setting a new single-game rushing record at Fayetteville-Perry.
Chase Jester carries for his first of seven touchdowns in the Rockets’ week five win over Hillcrest, Sept. 23. Jester rushed for a total of 383 yards, setting a new single-game rushing record at Fayetteville-Perry.

Jester snaps Fayetteville-Perry single game rushing record with win over Hillcrest –

By Wade Linville –

It took an impressive second half rally by the Fayetteville-Perry Rockets to lift the defending Ohio Valley Athletic League football champions to a 19-point victory over Hillcrest in their first league game of the season on Sept. 23 at Fayetteville.
The Rockets racked up 513 yards of total offense to take down Hillcrest 61-42 in week five on the gridiron Sept. 23.
The Rockets trailed Hillcrest by 11 at halftime but returned to hold the Hillcrest offense scoreless in the second half.
Fayetteville football fans got to witness Rocket senior running back Chase Jester snap the record for rushing yards in a single game, as he took 41 carries for a total of 383 yards. Jester ran for seven touchdowns in the Rocket win, with much credit going out to the  Fayetteville offensive line for its impressive blocking throughout the night.
“The line did a tremendous job,” said Fayetteville head coach Kevin Finch following the win over Hillscrest. “It was a great team effort on offense. We had a lot of people out there doing their jobs. Everyone who wasn’t carrying the ball was blocking. I was very pleased with the teamwork.”
After holding the Hillcrest offense scoreless in the first offensive drive of the game, the Rockets took over on their own 35 yard line to start their first drive. Jester took his first carry for a first down, moving the Rockets to their own 45 yard line with a 10 yard gain.
A couple more carries by Jester pushed the Rockets into Hillcrest territory at the 42 yard line.
Following a false start penalty on the Rockets, it was Jester carrying for an 11 yard gain to bring up second down and four to go for the Rockets at the Hillcrest 35 yard line.
From there, another Jester carry would move the Rockets seven yards closer to pay dirt, giving the Rockets a first down at the Hillcrest 29 yard line.
Fayetteville’s junior quarterback Luke Wiederhold then ran for a nice gain on the QB keeper, but a holding penalty on the Rockets would put them at first down and 15 yards to go at the Hillcrest 31 yard line.
Fayetteville’s senior wide receiver Tyler Kingus ran for a seven yard gain on a sweep to bring up third down and eight to go for the Rockets, and a completed pass from Widerhold to Kingus was good for a 16 yard gain to put the Rockets at first and goal on the nine yard line near the midway point in the first quarter.
With 6:06 to go in the first quarter, it was Jester taking a carry for a nine yard touchdown. With the successful kick for the extra point by junior Clay Davis, the Rockets held a 7-0 lead.
It didn’t take long for the Hillcrest offense to cruise down the field on its next possession to cap off their drive with a 23 yard touchdown reception by Nigel Mayo, followed by an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt, to cut the Rocket lead to 7-6.
The Rockets managed one more touchdown before the end of the first quarter, but it was Hillcrest heating up to take a 20-15 lead to end the first period of play.
Hillcrest went on to outscore the Rockets 22-16 in the second quarter, and at halftime it was Fayetteville trailing 42-31.
After struggling to stop the Hillcrest offense in the first half of play, the Rocket defense returned to the field to hold Hillcrest scoreless for the entire second half, while the Rocket offense scored 24 in the third quarter and six in the fourth quarter to rally for the victory.
“You have to give credit where credit is due. Hillcrest was making plays. Mayo is a very good receiver and they have a good quarterback,” said Finch. “Our defense really had to step up in the second half.”
The Rockets upped their overall record to 3-2 with the week five and held a 1-0 record in OVAL play.
The loss marked only the second of the season for Hillcrest, as they dropped to an overall record of 3-2 and a league record of 0-1.
The Rockets prepared to face Miami Valley Christian for the week six OVAL contest at Fayetteville on Sept. 30 in what is expected to be their most challenging league contest of the season.
As for Jester and the Rockets’ offensive line, you can expect their exceptional play to continue as the season rolls along.
Jester led Southwest Ohio rushing leaders after his week five performance against Hillcrest with a total of 940 rushing yards.
“Chase (Jester) is a hard worker. He’s the type of player you can’t keep out of the weight room,” said Finch. “He puts himself in a position to be very successful.”