Marauders win cross town rivalry in honor of their former head coach
By: Joshua Hoerner
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REEDSVILLE, Ohio (WOUB) — Big plays down the stretch helped Meigs defeat Eastern 21-13.
Last year marked the first time Meigs and Eastern played against each other in 22 years. The Eagles took home a 23-19 victory in a close game.
This year’s game was played in honor of Meigs’ first head football coach, Charles Chancey. He began his coaching career with the Marauders in 1970 and stayed for 21 seasons. The opposing Eastern Eagles wore patches on their helmet with the initials “CCC” in honor of him. The road leading to Meigs High School is named Charles Chancey Drive. He passed away at age 88 on Aug. 15, 2026.
Due to lightning strikes and severe weather in the area, kickoff was delayed for a half-hour. Luckily, the weather stayed mostly dry for the entirety of the game.
The Eagles got the scoring party started after the two teams traded punts to begin the game. Blaise Gilmore ran in a two-yard touchdown to give his team a seven-point lead with a minute left in the first quarter.
It didn’t take Meigs long to respond.
Quarterback Gunner Cleland found one of his main weapons, Griffin Hudson, for a 25-yard strike and score. The PAT was good, and the game was tied at seven.
The Eagles got two possessions for the remainder of the half but weren’t able to capitalize. The score was tied seven to seven going into the break.
Meigs struck on its opening drive coming out of halftime. Cleland found one of his other main targets, Owen Tracy, for a 27-yard score, giving his squad a touchdown lead.
That would remain the deficit going into the final quarter. The Marauders forced a turnover on downs as Eastern was driving, then fumbled to give the Eagles the football back deep in opposing territory.
Even after it looked like penalties would derail the drive, Eastern’s Braxton Yonker hit a wide-open Kyler Basham for a 15-yard endzone trip. The extra point would get blocked, leaving Meigs with a one-point lead.
That would be all that was necessary, but the Marauders added one more for good measure.
Their defense forced a critical turnover on downs. With about two minutes left, Griffin Hudson found a seam in the backfield and took a 44-yard run the distance. That gave his team an eight-point lead.
Owen Tracy sealed the deal for Meigs with an interception on the ensuing possession. The final score was 21-13 in favor of the visiting Marauders.
After the game, Meigs head coach Nolan Yates spoke about his team’s win in honor of Chancey.
“He just left a crazy amount of lives touched,” Yates said. “We had a difficult week. The funeral was during the week, and it’s been an emotional week.”
Next week, the Marauders will travel to Willow Wood to take on Symmes Valley. The Eagles will remain at home and host Miller.