Hornets swipe 2nd straight win
CALERA – A pair of touchdowns 18 seconds apart opened the floodgates for the Chelsea High School football team as it shut out Calera in the second half of a 35-3 win on Friday at Ricky M. Cairns Memorial Field.
The win is Chelsea’s second straight after an 0-7 start to the season.
“It’s like we’ve said all year, we felt like we were close. They’ve played hard, there’s no doubt about it," Chelsea head coach Dustin Goodwin said. "Last week in the second half we challenged the guys and we challenged them to continue that into this game and next week. They did a good job. It’s good to win two in a row."
Seven minutes into the game, Calera got on the board with a 23-yard field goal by Zach Ford after William Sullivan saved two potential touchdowns on the drive. That was the closest Calera got to scoring the rest of the game.
A misting rain took the ball out of Chelsea quarterback Turner Griffin’s hands and into the hands of Collier Blair, who collected the bulk of the Hornets’ 50-plus yards of first-half offense. Penalties plagued both teams through the first two quarters, as 26 flags were thrown in the first half and 45 total in the game.
Trailing 3-0, Chelsea benefited from a low punt snap that hit off Ford’s personal protectors, giving the ball to the Hornets at the Calera 13 with 1:43 remaining in the second quarter. It proved to be a catalyst for the Hornets.
With three seconds on the clock, Griffin capped the five-play drive with a 1-yard sneak for a touchdown and a 7-3 halftime lead.
After the bands cleared the field to start the second half, junior LaDarius Gary took the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, extending Chelsea’s lead to 14-3. “(LaDarius) has a ton of ability. He’s done it before. We know he’s capable of doing it. That was a big spark for us,” Goodwin said.
The second half was all Chelsea. After Gary’s kick return, the Hornets forced the Eagles to turn the ball over on downs at the Chelsea 26. After a personal foul penalty moved Chelsea to the 50, Landon Nichols scored on a 50-yard jet sweep to make it 21-3 with 5:01 to play in the third quarter.
Chelsea followed on its next possession with a 38-yard gain on a pass from Griffin to Blair, who was tackled at the 1 by Terry Burrells. The Hornets punched it in a play later to make it 28-3, and then Blair followed with a 38-yard touchdown reception on the next series, capping the Hornets’ scoring, 35-3, with 9:42 to play in the game.
After being held to 4 yards on 1-of-9 passing and an interception in the first half, Griffin completed 3-of-4 passes for 123 yards in the second half to finish 5-of-14 for 138 yards and a touchdown in the game. Blair finished the night with 72 yards receiving and 51 yards rushing.
Chelsea’s defense allowed 114 yards in the first half, but held the Eagles to 221 total yards in the game. Cole Berryman had a forced fumble, and Jakob Clayton had a fumble recovery for the Hornets.
Stephen Fant had the only sack of the night on Calera’s Cornelius Brown, who was 15-of-30 for 128 yards passing.
“I thought our defense played well all night. With the weather like it was and field position like it was (in the first half), we really didn’t want to turn the ball over and give them a short field. Once the weather cleared up, we were able to do a little more offensively as far as putting the ball in the air,” Goodwin said.
Chelsea (2-7) will return home Nov. 2 to host Pell City for the season finale and senior night.