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Bulldogs drop football opener, 34-16, in rain-shortened contest

Bulldog-logoBy Allen Wright

On Saturday, Aug. 27, the varsity football season kicked off for the Chelsea Bulldogs as they took on the River Rouge Panthers in the Kickoff Classic at Wayne State University in Detroit.

It was a big showdown that was much anticipated between two 2015 state champion runner-ups. Both teams came in with many weapons and great aspirations for the 2016 season

The Bulldog faithful piled into the stadium for the noon kickoff under the hot, humid sun. In the first quarter, it was a defensive battle as neither team could capitalize. The Chelsea defense came up big as River Rouge had a 15-play drive fall short at the 1-yard line as a dive over defenders by quarterback Jarius Grissom fell short.

But then in the second quarter, it was Chelsea striking first with Senior Cam Cooper taking a punt return to the house for a 75-yard touchdown showing why he is in the top 40 players to watch in Michigan list.

As the Panthers were driving down the field, Senior Cornerback Lawrence Buckley turned on the jets and made a beautiful interception ending the drive.

The Panthers came back though, and scored twice to take a 14-7 lead. But it was Buckley again flying down the field on the kick off return for a 60-yard run to set up a Chelsea field goal.

After an onside attempt by Chelsea, River Rouge took advantage of good field position and went 38 yards on three plays to score. Jaylen Watts-Jackson highlighted the drive with his 19-yard rush for the score. After the missed PAT, the score stood at 20-10 at the half.

After the Panthers took a bigger lead in the third, Chelsea began its comeback. Bulldogs Head Coach Brad Bush is one of the best when it comes to making adjustments at halftime. The Bulldogs drove down the field quickly getting five-straight first downs before Senior Quarterback Jack Bush punched it in on second-and-goal from the 1-yard line, cutting River Rouge’s lead to 34-16 after the missed 2-point try.

The Bulldogs were just getting ready to drive again when lightning strikes delayed the game. The MHSAA rule is a 30-minute delay from the last sight of lightning or the last sound of thunder.

With 58.4 seconds left in the third, the delay began. The storm, which had rolled through heavily through the hometown of Chelsea just mere hours before, would not let up. After a 2-and-a- half hour weather delay, the game was cancelled and River Rouge was awarded the victory before the Bulldogs could mount a comeback.

Chelsea will look to get on the winning track at home this Friday against Toronto Northern Secondary from Canada. Kick-off is at 7 p.m.

 

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