Hornets fall in region opener

BIRMINGHAM – The Hornets keep getting closer to that elusive first win of the season. But Thursday night wasn’t the breakthrough they were hoping for.

Chelsea High School was unable to hang onto a fourth-quarter lead and allowed 15 unanswered points in a 28-24 loss to Carver-Birmingham.

“When the game’s on the line, you’ve got to be able to stop them, and when the game’s on the line, you’ve got to be able to score. We were unable to do either of them,” said Chelsea head coach Dustin Goodwin.

Chelsea (0-3) took a 24-13 lead early in the fourth quarter, as quarterback Turner Griffin plunged into the end zone from 1 yard out. Griffin finished the night 16-of-29 passing for 144 yards. He started strong, completing nine passes in a row at one point in the first half.

But Carver responded, scoring a pair of touchdowns sandwiched around a Chelsea three-and-out to send the Hornets to an 0-1 start n Class 6A, Region 5 play.

Rams quarterback Matthew Young, who accounted for four touchdowns on the evening, threw a touchdown pass to cut the gap to 24-21. After Chelsea quickly punted the ball back to Carver, the Hornets were assessed 15-yard penalties on consecutive plays and Young ran 28 yards in two plays, scoring the final touchdown of the game on a 3-yard dive with 5:20 to go.

Chelsea crossed midfield on its final possession, even converting on a fourth down in its own territory, but Griffin’s pass on an ensuing fourth-down play was intercepted.

“I was proud of the way our kids fought,” Goodwin said.

After a scoreless first quarter, Chelsea capped off a 13-play drive with Vick Lindsey’s 10-yard run on a speed option. Lindsey led the Hornets with 71 yards on 12 carries. Carver answered immediately, as Young hit Marcus Davis on a short pass. Davis broke a few tackles and sprinted 60 yards to the end zone, but a failed two-point conversion left the score at 7-6.

Cooper Neal’s 23-yard field goal split the uprights at the halftime buzzer to give Chelsea a 10-6 lead at the break.

Carver took a 13-10 lead on its first drive of the third quarter, when a halfback pass set up Young’s 2-yard touchdown run. Collier Blair scored his first touchdown of the season on the Hornets’ ensuing drive.

Blair notched 51 rushing yards and 64 receiving yards on the night. Michael Gibbs caught five balls for 28 yards for Chelsea.

Goodwin said, “We stalled out a couple times in the first quarter, but moved the ball up and down the field and were able to put some points on the board this week, which was good. Unfortunately, we couldn’t pull it out at the end, but I do think our kids played fairly well and deserved a shot to win the game.”

Goodwin said the team has continued to play hard and is executing at a higher level each game. Next week, Chelsea heads to Jackson-Olin for its second region contest.

“Obviously, the results haven’t been quite what we want, nowhere close, but as long as we continue to improve, we’ll be OK,” Goodwin said.

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