(Chelsea Update would like to thank Nathan Dawson, Todd Blomquist, Dan Rhodes and Larry Merx for the information in this story.)
8th Grade Blue
The Chelsea 8th grade Blue team traveled to Adrian last night to face the Maple Leafs in a knock-down, drag-out battle.
Despite Adrian dressing twice as many players as Chelsea, when the singing was all over it was the Bulldogs who pulled through 36-30.
During the first half, it seemed as if the Dogs couldn’t be stopped and it all started on Special Teams. Tyler “Quick Feet” Valik returned Chelsea’s opening kickoff the length of the field to put Chelsea on the board. Chelsea’s special teams, led by Connor McKenzie, John Aquilino, and Dylan Dollinger, would continue to absolutely dominate as they caused one turnover (Dollinger) and put up a total of 12 points for the Dogs.
With the team fired up from such a huge play on special teams, the Dogs defense came out and did what they have been working for all year – fly to the ball and team tackle. The Dogs did their best to take away everything Adrian would try to throw at them with great success.
The Chelsea linebackers played their best game to date, and the D-line would be the reason that all could happen. The dogs played serious football all the way around on defense as the DB’s were there to make plays all night long as well. With motor’s cranking full speed all game, the defense would also add to the Bulldogs score with a HUGE interception returned for a touchdown by Chase Kemp.
When it came to offense for the Dogs, it all started up front with the big fellas on the O-Line, led by Peter Defant, Dylan Dolliger, Nick Tolliver, Brendan Wescott, Brian Morgans, and John Aquilino. These boys are the reason Chelsea allotted for two different running backs rushing for over 100 yards each and three touchdowns.
On the ground, the Dogs were led by none other than Evan “Beast Mode” Tompkins all game. It seemed as if he couldn’t be stopped. With two touchdowns himself, (and one by Griffen Murphy,) to date Tompkins has played his best football game yet. Valik would also add to the show with his blistering speed and an outside run game to make any opposing coach cringe.
Dominick Guthre and Griffen Murphy did the team justice also as they connected for a few exciting passes that would end up setting the Bulldogs up for scores.
In all, the Bulldogs held strong, played through adversity, and never let down on any side of the ball. That’s the reason they rode home from Adrian with a 36-30 victory.
Next week, come see the Dogs host the Dexter Dreadnaughts Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
7th Grade Gold
The 7th grade gold team lost to Monroe, 52-12.
Ty Wagner was the leading rusher and scored both of the Bulldog touchdowns with runs of 35 and 48 yards.
Byron Bayer also had some nice runs.
Quarterback Lucas Dunn had a nice pass completion to Connor Donajkowski. Aiden McGuire led the defense with a tackle for a loss.
Keep getting better boys.
8th Grade Gold
Tuesday night, the 8th grade gold team lost to Monroe, 36-16.
On offense, Corbin Steele completed several passes including a 15- and 25- yard
passes to Tyler Wallgren, as well as a 30-yard pass to Jacob Schultz. Steele scored a TD on a QB sneak and Schultz scored the other Bulldog touchdown on a 25-yard reverse.
Leading the Bulldogs on defense were Steele, Kemp Goehmann, Jack Maloney, and AJ Tokarski. All three players made several tackles for loss and the Bulldog D had a big tackle for loss that resulted in a safety.
Other key plays for the Dawgs included Zane Johnson-Chasteen with an interception, Dillon Hutchison with a fumble recovery and Logan Vaughn with a TD saving tackle.
The Dawgs started off slow, but the second half was their best half of football this season. The boys will look to continue this improved play when they head to Bedford next Tuesday.
7th Grade Blue
The seventh grade blue football team travelled to Adrian yesterday to take on the Maples.
The Bulldogs first drive featured several long runs by Carson Gray coupled with runs by Cole Munson and Ryan Martin and resulted in Gray taking the ball into the end zone.
The Bulldogs inaugurated their Funky Kick extra point play with an easy snap to Gray for the 2-point conversion. Bulldogs 8 – Maples 0. That proved to be the highlight of the game for the Bulldogs.
While they caused several fumbles and had many tackles for loss, the Dogs weren’t able to contain the scrambling Maple offense, eventually falling 22-8.
Next week, the team will host the Dreadnaughts from Dexter in their final home appearance of the season.
