By Isaiah Swann News-Press Now
Posted: September 22, 2017 - 10:41 PM

Following its first loss of the season, Lafayette made a statement.

The Fighting Irish used a variety of skill and athleticism to overwhelm a physical No. 4-ranked Chillicothe team in a 54-38 win Friday evening.

“We just haven’t come up against the speed we played (Friday),” Chillicothe coach Phil Willard said. “We definitely had some matchup problems and they exploited it.”

Last week, Smithville handed Lafayette a 35-0 thumping for its first loss of the season. This week at Jerry Litton Memorial Stadium, the Irish (5-1, 3-1 MEC) regrouped and pieced together a 48-minute show over a Hornets squad that shut out top-5 Maryville earlier this year.

“It was the kids,” Lafayette coach Bart Hardy said. “We talked about how we wanted to come back and be ready to play. They stepped up to the challenge.”

Chillicothe (5-1, 3-1) struck first with a 32-yard field goal.

Down 3-0, it took Lafayette less than 30 seconds to answer. An electric 62-yard touchdown pass from senior Diego Bernard to classmate Braydan Cox set up the Irish’s first score.

“He’s special and I think the guys around him know that,” Hardy said. “He’s always looking to distribute.”

The Hornets relied heavily on the cleats of running back Josh Kille. The senior had three rushing touchdowns and throughout the game, looked to be unstoppable.

Though Kille caused problems, the Lafayette defense did a lot of bending, but not breaking.

“They worked together as a group,” Hardy said. “They knew it was going to be physical. They knew it was going to be a tough game and they did a great job.”

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