(Chelsea Update would like to thank Burrill Strong for the photos in this story. Be sure to go to the end for a photo gallery.)
Chelsea football had to wait an extra day to play the Michigan Division 3 semi-final game against the Cardinals of Coldwater due to the snow storm on Saturday, but when Sunday finally rolled around, the Bulldogs schooled Coldwater, winning 35-7 at Jackson High School’s Dungy Field.
Chelsea will play for the State Championship at Ford Field in Detroit this Saturday, Nov.28 at 7:30 p.m. against Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, who defeated East Grand Rapids 14-7 in their semi-final game.
Once again, the Bulldogs scored a touchdown on their first possession, and then it was off to the races against a Coldwater team, which was outmatched from the opening kickoff.
Coldwater got the ball first, but couldn’t move the ball against the ferocious Chelsea defense, and the Bulldogs got the ball in good field position, beginning their first drive at their own 43. Chelsea drove right down the field, aided by an interference call against the Cardinals, and on second-and-goal from the three, quarterback Jack Bush plunged over the goal line for a touchdown. A Graham Kuras extra point made it 7-0. Kuras would make all five of his extra point attempts.
Coldwater fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Cal Barrett fell on the ball, giving Chelsea a first down on the Cardinal 29. On their first play, Bush launched a touchdown strike to Noah van Reesema, and with 4:43 to go in the first quarter, the Bulldogs were up 14-0.
Coldwater strung together a few first downs on their next possession, and drove into Bulldog territory, but could not convert on a fourth-and-six from the Chelsea 38, and it took the Bulldogs only two more plays to make it 21-0. Bailey Edwards was on the receiving end of two Jack Bush passes, the first for 23 yards, and the second a 39-yard touchdown reception.
Chelsea added one more touchdown in the first half, with Edwards again on the TD catch, this time in the back corner of the end zone, and the half ended with the Bulldogs leading 28-0.
Chelsea took the opening kickoff of the second half, and needed only three plays to score another touchdown. Chelsea started at midfield, and then Bush completed a long pass to van Reesema for a 40-yard touchdown completion, and Chelsea was up 35-0 with just over a minute gone in the third quarter.
Then it was time for the Bulldog starters to rest. Andrew Anstead took over at quarterback, and Gus Reynolds had a couple of nice first-down runs. Mikal Nelson made a nice catch of an Anstead pass for another first down. After taking the ball from their own 25 to the Cardinal 31, Chelsea turned the ball over on downs.
The two teams then traded fumbles, and Coldwater scored a touchdown late in the game, but it was all Chelsea in this game, and the final score was 35-7, before the Bulldog celebration began.
After the game, Chelsea head coach Brad Bush said “I’m really proud of these boys. We’ve been working for this for 10 months now, but there’s still one game to go.”
