Carl Dean
Crushing Defense
The Chelsea Hornets played hard, hit hard, and went down swinging in a heartbreaking loss.
A strong start, a halftime lead and all-star performance by Austin Washington weren't enough to prevent Thompson’s first region win since 2009. Thompson defeated Chelsea 25-23 on Sept. 6.
In a game that featured two safeties, a second-half comeback and a late game touchdown negated by a penalty, a strong Chelsea effort fell short of victory.
The first half saw Chelsea continuing the scoring spree from last weeks powerful performance. The Hornets lit up the scoreboard early in the game with a safety, a Dee Tolbert touchdown run, and a 37-yard field goal by David Buckalew.
Led by a 79-yard Austin Washington touchdown, Chelsea led 16-15 at halftime. The Hornets extended the lead with a 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Trent Hagin to Brock Campbell.
Thompson mounted a furious second half comeback, tying the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion. The winning score came on the game’s second safety with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Washington led the Hornets offense with 113 yards on just 8 carries.
