MARYVILLE, Mo. — Chillicothe’s biggest weapon during the second half Friday night against Marvyille wasn’t running back Bryce Young’s big-play ability or a turnover-forcing defense.

The difference for the Hornets was the right leg of running back/defensive end/punter Clint Dysart.

In a matchup of Midland Empire Conference powers, Dysart made the difference by pinning Maryville inside its 20-yard line four times in the final 24 minutes. The last punt put Maryville at its own 4 with only 1 minute, 31 seconds left.

The Spoofhounds managed three yards on four plays before turning it over on downs, allowing Chillicothe to escape Maryville High School with a 28-27 victory.

“It just comes natural,” Dysart said of his knack for putting punts out of bounds.

The final score came as a result of a blocked extra point on Maryville’s fourth touchdown — a 10-yard touchdown run for Adam Mattson — with 2:11 left in the third quarter. On the extra-point try, Chillicothe’s Tommy Hargrave broke through the line and smothered Mattson’s kick.

Maryville, which twice erased a 14-point deficit, had three more possessions trailing by one but couldn’t put up another score.

Hargrave said coach Phil Willard saw on film an opportunity for a blocked kick against Maryville. Hargrave barely missed on two other tries before making the big play that helped the Hornets thwart Maryville’s comeback attempt.

“At the time, I just knew I had to make a big play, give the offense a boost,” Hargrave said. “They were battling back, and it was starting to get on our morale. That block, it really picked our morale up, and we started playing tougher.

“Right now, I’m really glad I made that play.”

Both team entered undefeated and ranked No. 2 in their state classes — Maryville in Class 2, Chillicothe in Class 3. Early on, it appeared the bigger school would make short work of the home squad.

Chillicothe (6-0, 3-0) used its bruising rushing attack to build a 28-14 halftime lead, only to have Maryville pitch a shutout in the second half.

After gaining 222 rushing yards in the first half — 112 from junior Bryce Young — the Hornets had only 43 in the second half. Meanwhile, Maryville continued to make big plays and slowly closed the gap.

“They were bringing a lot of people,” Willard said, “and we just weren’t able to block them.”

Maryville (5-1, 4-1) went 59 yards, chewing up nearly 5 minutes, on the opening drive of the second half. John Farmer’s 24-yard touchdown run capped the possession, and Mattson’s extra point brought the Spoofhounds within 28-21.

Chillicothe’s ensuing drive sputtered, and a Dysart punt pinned Maryville at its own 11.

But on the first play of that drive, Chillicothe’s Young, playing at defensive back, tipped a Joe Jasinski pass, only to have it carom into John Schreck’s arms in stride. Schreck went for 72 yards to Chillicothe’s 17. Two plays later, Mattson — who finished with 115 yards rushing — added his second touchdown only to have the extra point blocked.

Maryville gained three more possessions but all started inside of the Spoofhounds’ 20 as a result of Dysart punts. The longest one started at their own 15 with 8:28 left in the fourth quarter.

But a costly delay-of-game penalty and a Clint Dahlberg tackle-for-loss on a third-down play forced Maryville into fourth-and-10 at the 30. Maryville coach Chris Holt opted to try a 47-yard field goal, which came up 17 yards short and was returned 29 yards by Chillicothe’s Colin Parker.

“Adam can make those type of distance field goals in practice,” Maryville coach Chris Holt said. “At that point, I just didn’t know what my fourth-and-10 play was going to be with the way they were defending us.

“If I’m going to put (the game) on somebody, I’m going to put it on my best player.”

With only 3:19 left, Chillicothe couldn’t manage a first down, but Dysart’s final punt bounced down to the 4.

“I thought that one was going to keep rolling into the end zone, but it just died,” Dysart said. “Just a good bounce on that one, I guess. Usually, they just roll out (the end zone).”

Farmer gained 3 yards on first-down run, and Mattson was stopped for no gain on second down before Jasinski mistakenly spiked the ball on third down to set up a do-or-die fourth down. Mattson took a screen pass on the next play and was stopped for no gain, leaving an extra point to haunt the Spoofhounds’ previously unbeaten season.

“We still had opportunities after (the blocked extra point),” Holt said. “But, obviously, the blocked extra point turned out to be the difference in the score.”