Hornets need win to avoid murky playoff picture
The Chelsea High School football team has put itself in a good position for a playoff berth, but it still has work to do.
There was a scenario in which the Hornets (6-2, 3-2 Class 6A, Region 3) could have secured a state playoff berth following last week’s action, with a win over Chilton County and a Helena loss to Benjamin Russell. However, Helena managed to pull off the victory and the Huskies live to fight another day.
That day culminates at 7 p.m. Friday at Chelsea High School, as Helena visits the Hornets requiring a win to keep those playoff hopes alive. This is where things become complicated.
As it stands entering the final week of region play, Wetumpka, Chelsea and Benjamin Russell sit with 3-2 marks in Region 3 in a tie for second, while Helena’s record is 2-3. Wetumpka and Benjamin Russell face each other Friday as well, guaranteeing that one of them will conclude with a 4-2 record and the other at 3-3.
Depending on correct interpretation of the AHSAA playoff tiebreakers, Chelsea may have already clinched a playoff berth. But head coach Chris Elmore does not want to leave it up to chance.
“I think we’ve still got work to do,” Elmore said following Chelsea’s 63-35 win over Chilton County last week. “I think there is probably a way we can get in by not winning next week but we don’t want to think about that. It will be a good ballgame.”
In that contest, the Hornets overcame a slow start that included three Chilton County touchdown passes in the first three minutes and eventually wore down the Tigers.
“I thought they made three really great catches early,” said Elmore. “I thought we had guys there. They just made phenomenal plays and runs after the catch. That would have been easy to lose your composure. There was literally about three minutes gone in the game – I think – and we kept telling them ‘Stay the course, don’t panic’.”
It’s a lot easier to avoid panicking when running back Zalon Reynolds and quarterback Matthew Marquet are on the field. Reynolds was sensational, running for 196 yards on 28 carries with three touchdowns. All but 16 of his yards came in the first half. Marquet carried the ball 16 times for 90 yards, scoring twice on the ground, and was 11 of 13 for 123 yards with touchdown through the air.
Chelsea finished with 366 rushing yards on 60 carries and 489 yards overall on 73 plays. Running back Austin Stallworth added three rushing touchdowns and the lone touchdown reception came from Jay Vickers.
After the first three scores from Chilton County, the defense settled in and Tigers managed just 244 yards on 43 plays the rest of the way.
“Defensively, I thought we played really, really well after the first three plays,” Elmore said.
In more playoff scenario chatter, a Chelsea win coupled with a Wetumpka win would allow the Hornets to host a first round playoff game, as the Hornets would win a tiebreak for second place in the region.
- Steve Irvine contributed to this story.