SAVANNAH, Mo. — Just as Chillicothe jarred Savannah’s dominance loose for a brief moment Friday night, sophomore Blake Burson reached out and physically took it back.

Savannah’s youthful wide receiver recovered quarterback Justin Roach’s third-quarter fumble when Chillicothe seemed to have regained possession.

“We knew we had everything going our way at that point,” Savannah fullback Quinton Peak said. “I think we had a feeling we were going to win at that point.”

On the next play, Peak busted down the right sideline for a 37-yard gain, and Roach’s third touchdown run followed three downs later. Cameron Vulgamott’s extra point provided the final of Savannah’s 27 unanswered points in the Savages 27-10 victory at Savage Field.

The win opened Class 3 District 16 play with an exclamation for Savannah, which has reached the playoffs just once in school history (1997).

The Savages allowed a late lead to slip away against Chillicothe last year, and they lost three of their final four in missing the playoffs in a 7-3 season. While Savannah beat Chillicothe in 2006 in a series dominated by the Hornets, the win marked the first time Savannah beat Chillicothe at home since 1921.

“I don’t know if it’s the biggest win in school history, but that’s definitely the biggest win in recent years,” said Savannah coach Mark Cole, now 2-2 in four district games with the Savages. “They went to the semifinals in 1997 so they would have had some big wins, but I’d say this is the biggest win since then.”

Chillicothe (6-2, 3-2 MEC) stumbled to its second loss in three games, and the Hornets held a 10-0 lead in this defeat.

The Hornets’ first two possessions entered Savannah’s territory but stalled into field-goal attempts. Connor Lindley made the first from 30 yards out but missed a 44-yard try wide right, a possession set up by a Roach interception on Savannah’s second offensive play.

Savannah again failed to make a first down on its second drive, and a Blake McFadden punt gave Chillicothe another possession, starting at its own 20. Chillicothe running back Josh Rockhold sizzled up the right sideline on the first and only play of that drive for an 80-yard score accounting for most of his team-high 139 yards.

The score put the Hornets up 10-0 with Savannah only netting 13 yards to that point.

Savannah (6-2, 4-1 MEC) ended the first quarter with disparities of 161-42 in offensive yards and 5-2 in first downs.

“They’ve got the momentum, but we’re doing OK,” Cole said. “Then that 80-yard run, it was like, ‘Oh man. Here we go. It’s going to be a long night.’ We came off the field, and I was concerned.”

But the Savages finally started to move the ball behind Roach’s right arm. He completed all three of his attempts on their third possession, which spanned into the second quarter.

The third went to senior Chandler Hanna on a second-and-16, and the shifty wide receiver broke three tackles on his way to a 26-yard touchdown. And suddenly, Savannah’s blitz back began.

The Savages scored on each of their next two possessions as well, both on Roach touchdown runs.

Brent Hickman set up the second with an interception of Chillicothe quarterback Jared McCauslin. Despite a block-in-the-back penalty on the return, Savannah started at Chillicothe’s 41 and needed only five plays to score, with Roach capping it with a dive for the pylon from 10 yards out on an option keeper.

Missed extra point aside, Savannah led 20-10 at the break with all the momentum.

“It gave us the confidence, and we knew we could beat them going into half,” said Roach, who ran for 44 yards and threw for 100.

Roach passed only once in the second half with Peak gaining 97 of his 141 rushing yards on 26 total carries.

The lone blemish of Savannah’s second half came on Roach’s fumble as he picked up first-down yardage on a third-and-1. Burson’s recovery kept the drive alive, and Chillicothe never recovered after going behind 27-10.

Savannah held all-stater Bryce Young to negative-1 yard in the second half — 31 overall — and the Hornets finished with just 61 yards of offense after halftime. Meanwhile, Savannah’s run game ground out the game’s remainder.

“I just loved it, lining up and here we come, baby, smash-mouth football,” Cole said.

The second half’s play calling harkened to Cole’s glory days at Gallatin when he led the Bulldogs to playoff appearances in 2004-2006, including a semifinal berth in the third go-round. Cole hopes the second-half run game against Chillicothe translates into his first postseason opportunity at his new job.

Assistant sports editor Ross Martin can be reached

at rossmartin@npgco.com