(Chelsea Update would like to thank Daniel Rhodes and Nathan Dawson for the information in this story.)
7th grade blue
The Chelsea 7th grade blue team lost its season opener to Saline 30-0.
Saline led 14-0 at the break but managed to pull away in the second half. The Bulldogs had a couple of long runs on offense by Hayden Westcott and Jason Skoczylas, while Matt Geitzen and Elijah Ratliff held down the defense with multiple tackles.
The 7th grade blue team will take on the Bedford Mules next week.
8th grade gold
Tuesday night was a special one for the Beach Middle School 8th grade gold football team as they kicked off the start to their 2017 season.
The Bulldogs traveled down to Monroe Jefferson with some big expectations.
Chelsea’s defense would have the honor of leading the team onto the field for the first time this year, and quite the job they did letting up zero points in the first half to the Trojans. Monroe would fall a half of a field short on their first possession putting the ball back into Chelsea’s hands.
The Bulldog offence had a rough start giving up a safety on the 2nd play of their opening drive. But, that wouldn’t stop the Bulldog defense from roaring again. Like all good football, it started in the trenches. The dog’s D-Line fully understood this, doing a great job at fulfilling their assignments. This allowed the Chelsea linebacker core to have free movement of the field and chomp the plays up as they were dealt to them.
The second possession for the Dogs looked as if a whole different team was on the field. They quickly, and fashionably, put together a 75-yard march down the field to the end zone, with a 50-yard TD run by powerhouse Carson Gray. Gray would then take the toss in for another 2 points on the conversion. In just the first half he was able to rack up well over a 100 yards on minimal carries.
After the defense made yet another stop, and one of many, Chelsea would again find the end zone for 6 more points on a spectacular 38-yard run by first time full back Trevor Vosters.
Quarterback Luke Dunn would connect with Ben Stryzouskie on the pass for 2 more points making the score 16-2 Chelsea at halftime. While that would be the end of the Dogs scoring for the evening, Vosters and Grayson Eckland played key roles in the 2nd half, pounding the ball up the middle for first down after first down.
None of this would have been possible if not for the concrete of an offensive line the Bulldogs are packing. Led by center Henry Lantis, McGuire, Sullivan, Keeler, Thompson, Collins, Vosters, Iannellie, Willis and Clacher the Dogs proved to be too strong and smart upfront for the Trojans.
The 2nd half saw the Trojans pushing hard for a comeback, but Chelsea would just not lay down or give up what they had fought so hard for over the last three weeks. After the final score of the night from Monroe, making it 16-14 Chelsea, Ben Stryzouskie would come up HUGE with a game saving interception in the endzone on the 2-point conversion with 1:33 left to go in the game. Might we add, the Chelsea defensive backs did not let up a single reception all game.
The Chelsea 8th grade gold football team did what you would expect from any team with class. They pushed for their first down and ended the game with QB Dunn taking a knee as time ran out.
The gold 8th graders will face Lincoln next Tuesday evening at home. We hope everyone can come out to see them play.
