By Seth Kinker, photos by Burrill Strong
(Chelsea Update would like to thank The Sun Times-News for sharing Seth Kinker during fair week.)
The Josh Lucas era began with a 34-20 win on Friday night at Jerry Niehaus Field, extending Chelsea’s domination of Dexter to 23 straight.
Lucas talked to The Sun Times News after the win about his first game as the head coach of Chelsea football.
“First game here, replacing a legend in Brad (Bush), playing Dexter. There’s a lot of emotions,” said Lucas about his feelings before the game. “I didn’t sleep much this week I’ll be honest with you. But I’m excited, grateful to be here, and have the opportunity to be in Chelsea.”
Opening with each other for the first time since 1958, the Bulldogs held an all-time series edge over the Dreadnaughts, 53-13-2.
Both offenses moved the ball early, the first punt didn’t come until 5:20 left in the first half.
Dexter’s first drive quickly moved into Bulldog’s territory after a few passes aided by a Bulldog pass interference call. The drive stalled late in the first quarter in Bulldog territory and a field goal attempt from Dreadnaught senior kicker Karl Kerska was blocked by Bulldog senior defensive back Doug Zarinnia, who came off the edge unblocked, to keep the game scoreless.
“I was looking at my guys outside hip, he jumped inside, and thought ‘Wow this is an open lane,’” said Zarinnia. “I did what I was coached (to do).”
Zarinnia led the Bulldog defense with six tackles including two tackles for loss. As the game went on, the Bulldogs constant pressure prevented the Dexter QB from getting into a rhythm.
“We game-planned the entire week, we knew what we were going to see,” said Zarinnia. “Just a lot of slants, bubble routes, short passes to Ficklen. I think the defense did a great job stopping him today.”
The Bulldogs defense held the Dreadnaught offense to only 238 yards overall and 18 minutes with the ball. Chelsea was also efficient on offense, scoring touchdowns on five of their eight possessions including all three of their first-half drives.
On the next possession for the Bulldogs, runs from senior running back Aaron McDaniels coupled with a deep pass from senior quarterback Quinn Starkey to senior wide receiver Hunter Neff got the ball deep in Dreadnaught territory. McDaniels capped the drive with a touchdown from inside the 5-yard line with 3:34 remaining in the first quarter to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead.
McDaniels had 31 carries and 115 yards on the night, adding three touchdowns in the first half on a night where the Bulldog offensive line wore down the Dreadnaughts.
“We dominated up front, so my job was pretty easy,” said McDaniels. “Coach Lucas had a good game plan looking at their defensive front, we just went out and executed.”
The connection from Stark to Neff was something you should get used to hearing. Neff finished with 10 catches for 275 yards and two touchdowns, with multiple long yards after the catch runs. The 275 receiving yards were good for 15th-most receiving yards in a game in Michigan High School Athletic Association history.
“I was just preparing all week,” said Neff. “Game planning helped a lot. I just ran my routes and Quinn threw me some great balls. It was a great night.”
Starkey accounted for 329 yards of the 456 yards of offense for the Bulldogs, going 13-19 through the air for 299 yards and two touchdowns, with all but three passes going to Neff on his monster night.
“When you got a dude like Hunter out there, it’s always a strength, regardless of what they have planned defensively,” said Starkey on the offense Friday night.
“That kid, I’ll tell you right now, if he wasn’t playing travel baseball, that kid should be getting (college) looks,” said Lucas on Neff. “He plays three sports so it’s hard for colleges to be able to get to see him as a football player because he’s gone so much, but the kid’s a freak.”
In response to the Bulldog touchdown, the Dreadnaughts followed with a seven play 63-yard drive for a TD. The extra point was missed, which made the score 7-6 with 1:20 remaining in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs responded with a 12-play 80-yard drive of their own, ending with another McDaniels touchdown from the one-yard line to make it 13-6 halfway through the second quarter.
After forcing a Dreadnaught punt the Bulldogs continued to pour it on, a third 80-yard drive that included a 42-yard catch from Starkey to Neff. McDaniels capped off the drive with the last touchdown in the half with 1:16 remaining to make it 20-6 at halftime in favor of the Bulldogs.
In the third quarter, Starkey found Neff wide open on blown coverage right up the seam and he took it to the house. A 69-yard catch and run to put the Bulldogs up 27-6.
The Bulldogs had huge success through the air but continued to wear down the Dreadnaughts up front with McDaniels and the offensive line throughout the night.
The nail in the coffin came early in the fourth quarter. Neff was in single coverage in the red zone, Starkey threw a ball over the top to the corner and it was a little too high. On the very next play, the Bulldogs went right back to it and Neff made a leaping grab in the same corner despite a defensive pass interference to make the score 34-6 with 11:49 remaining.
The two teams combined for 16 penalties as the rivalry game got more heated as the night went on.
“You could feel the emotion in the kids,” said Lucas. “It got a little chippy out there, that’s going to happen, but we have to be smarter too. Our kids have to understand the situation
The Dreadnaughts scored two long touchdowns late, and the game ended 34-20 as the Bulldogs advanced to 54-13-2 all-time against the Dreadnaughts.
The win also marks 23 straight victories in the rivalry for the Bulldogs.
“I’ll tell you this, Dexter is right there,” Lucas said. “The game is never over, and the kids found that out tonight. Coach Jacobs is doing some great things over there, I think they’re going to get some teams this year. People can look at the losing streak, but the losing streak doesn’t reflect that team. That’s a good team, they deserve a lot of credit, they’ll get there for sure.”
Next up for the Bulldogs is Pinckney on Friday, Aug. 31 away at 7 p.m.
