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Neal Wagner
Chelsea vs. Oxford
Chelsea falls in the first round of the playoffs at Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea's Hornet mascot waves to the crowd during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea and Oxford players shake hands during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea takes the field during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea's Chad Carbonie makes a tackle during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
The Chelsea offensive line and the Oxford defensive line during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea's Collier Blair escapes pressure during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea's Collier Blair is taken down during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea attempts to block a PAT during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea cheerleaders during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea quarterback Caleb Moore talks with head coach Dustin Goodwin during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea's Jordan Smith takes down Oxford quarterback Revy Higgins during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea's Jake Adams breaks up a pass during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea's Jake Adams makes a tackle during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea fans celebrate during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea's defense takes down Oxford's Jonovan Carlisle during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
The Oxford student section during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
The Chelsea band during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
The Chelsea band during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
The Chelsea band during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
The Chelsea band during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
The Chelsea band during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
U.S. Army Sgt. Kenneth Howard surprised his sister, Maquayla Walker, a member of the Chelsea Band VIsual Ensemble during halftime of a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford. Howard had been deployed for two years.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea's cheerleaders celebrate during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea's Cole Berryman tackles Oxford's Samuel robertson during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea's Michael Gibbs escapes a tackle during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Michael Gibbs (6) and Gabe Ruffin (5) celebrate a Chelsea touchdown during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea's Timothy Ransom (3) and Holton Smith (17) embrace at the end of a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea's Gabe Ruffin attempts to catch a pass during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea's Michael Gibbs makes a one-handed catch during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
Chelsea's Cameron Hinson runs the ball during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
The Chelsea band during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
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Photo by Neal Wagner
Chelsea Football
The Chelsea band warms up during a Class 6A first round playoff game between Chelsea and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Lamar Field in Oxford.
OXFORD — The Chelsea High School football team found out quickly why Oxford was the top-seeded team in Class 6A, Region 6, as the Yellow Jackets handled the Hornets with ease in a 55-14 victory that would end the season for Chelsea.
The Yellow Jackets scored three touchdowns in the first five minutes of the game, with TD passes of 79 and 55 yards by quarterback Trey Higgins and a 63-yard punt return by X’Zavian Britt.
Oxford tacked onto its lead, scoring three more touchdowns in the second quarter, and added a pair in the second half – one on a 36-yard interception run by Trequon Fegans and another on an 83-yard kickoff return from Miguel Mitchell.
The seventh-ranked Jackets were too big and too fast and proved to be more than the Hornets could handle. Oxford proved its might throughout the regular season, defeating No. 4 Pinson Valley, No. 8 Gardendale, and Clay-Chalkville, who was listed just outside the top 10.
Chelsea had severe problems dealing with the Jackets’ height. The combination of quarterback Trey Higgins and wide receiver Rokafewlloa Taylor — both of whom top out at six feet, four inches — connected on five passes in the first half, all but one of which were 20 yards or longer and two for touchdowns.
The hosts’ defense was as stingy as the offense was prolific, holding the Hornets to minus-11 yards rushing (with three sacks) and 58 yards passing for a total of 47 yards in the first half. Additonally, Chelsea was penalized 73 yards before intermission.
The visitors did have some success early, with their lone defensive stop coming when Chad Carbonie intercepted a Higgins pass in the end zone. Chelsea’s two scores came in the final period: a 27-yard touchdown pass on a flea flicker from Caleb Moore to Michael Gibbs and a 38-yard scoring run for Gibbs.
But highlights were hard to find for the Hornets, as their season ended in defeat.
“Any time your season ends this way, you hate to see it for the seniors who put in such hard work,” Chelsea head coach Dustin Goodwin said. “Our kids kept fighting, and that’s a credit to their character.”
Chelsea ends its season with a 5-6 record. But the team still accomplished much of what it set out to do when the campaign began, Goodwin said.
“We improved our record and made the playoffs, and that was our goal when we started,” he said.
Collier Blair carried the ball 18 times to gain 33 yards, while Gibbs had two rushes for 37 yards and a touchdown. Moore was 7-for-18 passing with one TD and one interception for 139 yards.
Oxford advances to the second round to play Cullman, which defeated Mae Jemison in its first-round game.
Click here to purchase photos from the game.
