Hetings' 44-Yard Field Goal Lifts Chicago Past Charlotte
Riley Kade — JRSports One
Austin Hetings kicked a 44-yard field goal with 0:44 left to give Chicago a 20-14 win over Charlotte. Chicago had led since the second quarter, and Charlotte cut the margin to three with a late touchdown and two-point conversion before the winning kick.
The turning point came early in the second quarter, when Owen Whus ran two yards for a touchdown at 14:18, moving Chicago ahead 7-3. The Cyclones did not trail again.
Charlotte opened the scoring on Lane Himwell's 40-yard field goal at 7:13 of the first quarter, which gave the Largemouths a 3-0 lead. Juan Yor intercepted a Jake Braton pass at 4:09 and returned it three yards. Joel Fianita then hit Isaac Pist for a 27-yard touchdown at 3:26 of the second quarter, and Chicago led 14-3 at halftime.
Neither team scored in the third quarter. Niko Nondovic intercepted Braton at 4:20, and Chicago carried its 14-3 lead into the fourth.
Austin Hetings kicked a 40-yard field goal at 14:06 of the fourth quarter to make it 17-3, the largest lead of the game. Himwell answered with a 35-yard field goal at 8:48 to cut it to 17-6. At 2:42, Braton threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Wyatt Fund, and the two-point conversion was good, pulling Charlotte within three at 17-14. Hetings closed it out with his 44-yard field goal at 0:44.
Braton finished 24 of 42 for 276 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, and Charlotte outgained Chicago 357 yards to 268. Fianita was 22 of 33 for 193 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. Pist caught eight passes for 85 yards and the touchdown. Adam Hor carried 15 times for 63 yards for Chicago, and Joel Cromson ran 10 times for 48 yards and caught six passes for 72 for Charlotte. Derek Waimore had three sacks for Chicago, and Tyler Gairdton had two sacks for Charlotte.
Dawson Jorder, a Chicago wide receiver, suffered an MCL sprain and is out four weeks. Wade Lusley, a Charlotte linebacker, has a hamstring strain and is out four weeks. Dawson Thenings, a Chicago lineman, has a concussion and is out one week. Alejandro Lielana, a Charlotte linebacker, also has a hamstring strain and is out.
Chicago's win moved it to 4-4, while Charlotte fell to 5-4.
