Photo by Todd Lester
Chelsea-Oak Mountain Football
Chelsea's Hunter Blackburn (8) catches a deep pass in a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, August 19, 2016, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham, Alabama.
The offense was expected to be a strength for the Chelsea High School football team this fall. With that being said, the Hornets may have surprised some people with their performance in a 49-33 season-opening win over Oak Mountain last week.
Oak Mountain jumped out to a 14-0 lead, and Chelsea responded to tie the game shortly before halftime. The Eagles countered, and took a 21-14 lead into halftime.
Then, the fireworks went off.
The Hornets offense exploded, especially on the ground. The two teams exchanged blows the rest of the way, before Chelsea scored the final two touchdowns of the night to take the win.
Chelsea gashed Oak Mountain for 318 yards rushing on the evening, led by Zalon Reynolds’ 183 yards and four scores on 29 carries. Quarterback Matthew Marquet eclipsed the century mark as well, as he scored once on 14 carries, for 114 yards.
Not that Marquet needed to put the ball in the air much, but when he did, he was on target. The senior signal caller completed 15-of-17 passes for 118 yards, including touchdown throws to Jay Vickers and Josh Gregg.
Marquet thinks the experience of the offense will allow the Hornets to build on that performance.
“I just think it’s because we’ve got a lot of seniors on the team,” said Marquet on the Hornets’ ability to overcome adversity. “We’ve all been there, we know what it’s like. Being hit in the mouth, it’s not how we wanted it to start, but I think if there was any group that would respond well, it’s our senior class.”
Despite the high-scoring contest, the Hornet defense still made its presence known. The biggest play of the game in a game filled with big plays may have come from the defense. Junior defensive end Warner Wright fell on a fumble with Chelsea nursing a one-point lead, and they quickly capitalized with another Reynolds touchdown.
Friday night, Chelsea and Briarwood Christian School renew their longtime rivalry, a game that players from both schools have said they have circled on their calendars.
Chelsea has won each of the last two games in the series, including a 21-16 decision last fall that did not lack drama.
The Hornets jumped out to a 15-3 lead in the game, but Briarwood scored 13 unanswered points to claim a slight 16-15 edge with just less than three minutes remaining.
Marquet led the Hornets down the field and delivered a 45-yard touchdown pass to Ben Praytor to take the lead and seal the game.
The Lions hold a 19-8-1 edge in the all-time series, and won 14 of 15 through 2011.
Briarwood will be playing its first regular season game, choosing to play Vestavia Hills in a jamboree game last week. QB William Gray was 7-for-9 for 64 yards in the 20-7 loss to the Rebels.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Richard Conkle Stadium.
