Hornets drop region contest to Homewood
CHELSEA – The light hasn’t gone off on the Homewood High School football team’s season just yet.
The Patriots, saddled with a 1-5 overall record coming into Friday’s game, had plenty of excuses to throw in the towel. But they refused to give in and hung on for a 27-26 victory over Chelsea in a Class 6A, Region 5 contest at Chelsea High School.
“Our kids come to work every day,” Homewood head coach Ben Berguson said following the game. “They had a great week of practice again this week, they just need something good to happen to them. We finally got the W.”
Homewood (2-5, 2-2 in region) was on a three-game losing streak entering the contest. A makeshift offensive line, a young defense and the injury bug are just a few reasons behind the Patriots’ slow start to the season.
But the Patriots got off to a fast start in the game and never surrendered the lead, although Chelsea had its chances in the second half. Chelsea (3-4, 3-2 in region) cut the deficit to one point early in the fourth quarter, but came up empty on its final two possessions.
It’s the second consecutive one-possession loss for Chelsea, after the Hornets fell to region leader Helena 31-28 last week.
“We have a lot of kids that are going to fight and do things the right way,” Chelsea head coach Dustin Goodwin said. “It’s frustrating two weeks in a row to lose by one (possession), but at the same time, we’ve got to make plays when we have the opportunity on both sides of the ball.”
Homewood jumped off to a fast start, scoring touchdowns on its first two drives. Pate Owen capped off the first one with a 3-yard touchdown run and freshman running back Sam Carr scored from 7 yards out to make it 14-0 less than six minutes into the action. Carr would finish with 31 rushing yards in the game.
Chelsea responded to Homewood’s second score with a long drive, that workhorse running back Collier Blair finished off with a 12-yard scoring run. Blair was used heavily and showed no signs of weariness. He finished the night with 35 carries for 189 yards.
“We knew coming into the season he was going to be a guy that we would lean on real heavy,” Goodwin said. “He’s continued to perform week in and week out and we’re glad to have him.”
Michael Gibbs scored on a 4-yard run to bring Chelsea to within 14-13 early in the second quarter. The teams exchanged a punt and fumble before Owen led another Patriots scoring drive late in the half. He completed two passes and carried the ball three times on the drive, scoring on another 3-yard run to make it 20-13.
Owen finished the night 10-of-20 passing for 191 yards and a 67-yard scoring pass to Len Irvine in the third quarter, while also rushing for 47 yards and the two touchdowns. He went down with an injury in the fourth quarter and Brode Susce finished the game out. Berguson did not have an update on Owen’s injury immediately after the game.
Irvine caught five passes for an even 100 yards in the game, while Trae Ausmer hauled in five balls for 91 yards.
Chelsea’s Cooper Neal kept his team close with his strong leg, as he converted a 42-yard field goal with ease to cut the deficit to 20-16 just before halftime and hit a 32-yard field goal with 8:28 to play to make it 27-26.
Adam Reaves hauled in a tough pass while covered tightly, scoring on a 26-yard reception from Caleb Moore to make the score 27-23 late in the third quarter. Moore went 8-of-18 passing for 75 yards and rushed for 49 yards.
Goodwin said his team’s ability to fight back after the slow start could be a sign of the team’s maturation, but the situation the Hornets found themselves in came back to bite them.
“At the same time, you would like for us to take advantage of some things as we move forward through the game. Getting off to that slow start hurt us in the end,” he said.
Chelsea is guaranteed a playoff spot, while Homewood likely needs wins over Carver-Birmingham and Jackson-Olin over the next two weeks to make the postseason for the eighth straight year. It will be Chelsea’s first playoff trip since 2016.
Chelsea wraps up its region slate at Minor next week, while Homewood hosts Carver.
“There’s still light at the end of the tunnel,” Berguson said.
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