Staff photo / Brian Yauger Chalker senior Ethan Bosch (3) runs for a gain while evading Sebring’s Brandon Bahler during a game.

SEBRING — Coming off an emotional loss to St. Mary Central Catholic six days prior, Chalker wanted to set the tone early on in Friday’s game against Sebring.

Six first half touchdowns were exactly what the Wildcats needed in a 52-12 victory over the Trojans.

“(After a game like last week) you gotta bounce back,” Chalker coach Justin Kren said. “You gotta keep the energy up, you gotta keep everybody engaged in the games. It was good to come back, post another ‘W,’ and get the boys’ confidence back up. They know we can compete, and just keep that level up all the way until the end of the season. I told them that we control our own fate, but we have to win out. Leave no doubt, win out.”

It didn’t take long for the Wildcats to add to the scoreboard. Thirteen seconds into the game, after Chalker’s opening kickoff and forced turnover, Wildcats junior Colt Levensky scampered into the end zone.

That lead remained for the rest of the contest.

Ethan Bosch was next, bursting through the trenches and rushing 30 yards to score.

Zach Pack, Zack Zimmerman, Vince Delvecchio and Tanner Kelson added to Chalker’s total before the end of the first half.

Sebring got on the board late in the third quarter with Konner Leeland catching a pass from junior Zach Todd on a fourth-and-3.

The Trojans struck again before the game’s end, with Todd finding Isaac Brooks in the back corner of the end zone from 20 yards out.

With time ticking away in the fourth quarter, Delvecchio burst through the lines nearly untouched for a 55-yard touchdown, giving the Wildcats one more touchdown on the board.

Sitting at 6-1, Chalker is poised to qualify for the 8-man state playoffs for the second straight year.

A trip to the playoffs means a potential rematch with St. Mary, a team that has beaten the Wildcats three times in a row.

The most recent match has Kren eager for the chance to face them again. If his team can play disciplined, he likes their odds.

“We’ve gotta have discipline, ball discipline,” Kren said. “Watch the ball on third-and-short and fourth-and-short. We gave a lot of those away. We have to protect the ball too. It’s hard to win when you throw six interceptions, but we turned the ball over six times and we still only lost by four points. What’s that tell you?”

Sebring aims to get back in the win column with a road game against Stryker before crossing state lines to end the regular season against Kennedy Catholic (Pa.). The Trojans opened the year with a 22-6 victory over Kennedy Catholic.

Entering the season with a goal of learning to win, Sebring has shown major progress. Now the next goal is to start competing and winning against those upper-echelon teams in the conference.

“(We’ve improved) but the reality is this in the Northern 8, there’s the top-three teams in the league, and then there’s the rest of the group,” Trojans coach Anthony Agresta said. “We have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that, in that second tier, we can pretty much beat everybody. We’re just, we’re just not at the place right now where we can compete with Chalker or Danbury or St. Mary. I do think we’re a better football program than we have been in the past, but the next goal is to get to that point where we can compete with those top-tier teams like Chalker, and there is a good chance that Chalker will be playing in the championship game before the season is over.”

Chalker looks to close its regular season out strong with a pair of road games against Holgate next week and Danbury in the season finale.