Week 8 brought Dexter to town. Ah, Dexter. The Dreadnaughts — who use a ship as a mascot even though the type of battleship was the dreadnought, WHERE’S THE CONSISTENCY — are Chelsea’s close and fierce sports rivals. Unfortunately for Dexter, the football rivalry has been one of the most lopsided series in the area. In fact, it might be THE most lopsided series in the area. How lopsided? Let’s put it this way: I’m 31, and I was 14 (and even MORE awkward!) the last time Dexter beat Chelsea in football. Or let’s put it another way: Dexter’s current 17-year-old seniors weren’t even one year old the last time Dexter beat Chelsea. There have been a few close games in the intervening years — including one VERY close call that put a proper scare into the Bulldogs regarding the winning streak — but after another victory in 2011, Chelsea’s win streak was a very healthy 16 games. And…well, that streak really wasn’t in great danger this year.

Okay, hold on. Let me explain. I’m about as cautious as it gets about expressing great confidence in the outcome of a game between rivals. Weird things happen in rivalries. Lousy teams beat good teams. Rivalries make me nervous. I’m terrified of assuming victory. But this year’s Chelsea/Dexter football game? I mean, come on. Chelsea had a rough start to the year with three losses, but that got turned around with greatly improved play and four straight victories. And as for the Dreadnaughts…well, an 0-7 record featuring six extraordinarily lopsided losses provided little evidence of a team that could threaten an upset without an inconceivably great performance and a few big breaks.

There were miniature cheerleaders in attendance:

And, if I may break the timeline for a moment, they performed at halftime:

Anyway. Back to the timeline.

Shortly after the game started…yeah, it was apparent the win streak was going to grow. The Bulldogs didn’t score on their first drive, but they scored a lot after that. This was not an evenly-matched game. At all.

Chelsea put up 34 in the first half and took its foot off the gas in the second half, which resulted in a final score that was not representative of the lopsided nature of the game. (A certain high school football program in Ann Arbor could take notes from this. It’s not bad to win by less than you could have.)

The win was Chelsea’s 17th straight win over Dexter. More importantly, it was Chelsea’s fifth straight win after opening the season with three losses, making the Haslett game a huge opportunity to clinch a playoff spot. I don’t know if you all appreciate what a remarkable turnaround this team has engineered this season: from 0-3 to 5-3 with a very real chance at a guaranteed playoff berth. That is outstanding.

So. The regular season ends this Friday when Haslett comes to town. This is big. This is so big. The game is in Chelsea on Friday at 7pm. SHOW UP AND SUPPORT THE BULLDOGS. Please? Thank you. I look forward to seeing you there.

The Bulldogs, riding a three-game win streak, had to prepare for another stiff test with the 6-0 Tecumseh Indians coming to town. Tecumseh’s last winning season prior to this year was 2007, so they’ve been fairly enthusiastic about the whole deal. In fact, when I traveled to Tecumseh for the JV game on Thursday evening, I found that they were selling playoff shirts emblazoned with the slogan “ROLL TRIBE.” (I also got to watch Chelsea’s freshman and JV teams defeat their previously undefeated Tecumseh counterparts, with the JV managing the feat in a somewhat lopsided fashion. That was enjoyable. Good job, guys.)

Anyway. Tecumseh rolled into Jerry Niehaus Field undefeated and feelin’ alright (yes sir), but the Bulldogs were starting to pick up steam, and there’s been more than a smidgen of tension in the Chelsea/Tecumseh series over the years. It hasn’t been Chelsea’s main football rivalry, but it’s been quite heated at times, and beating Tecumseh has long been a satisfying accomplishment here in Chelsea.

Oh, and it was Chelsea’s homecoming. If you’re going to win a game, it had better be homecoming.

Homecoming means there was a parade.

Those coats typically mean it was rainy or cold. In this case, it was both. Well, it was more rainy than cold, but it felt colder than it was because it was raining. What I’m saying is that I’m pretty sure the precipitation and the temperature conspired to make everybody wonder if it had become pre-winter without warning. My hands mostly stopped working by the end of the evening, so I’m pretty sure it had.

The students were all dressed in white not because the homecoming theme was Casper the Friendly Ghost — although now I’d like to see that happen — but because after the parade they were heading over to the high school parking lot to get colorful. That event was fun enough that I’m going to give those photos their own post. Check back tomorrow.

The band also got colorful, though not quite in the same fashion.

And, of course, at halftime there was the coronation. Do you know when it seemed to rain its hardest? Yup. At halftime.

Okay, now let’s talk football. After the teams traded punts, Chelsea opened the tricky app on its smartphone* and tried a halfback pass.

It may have been mildly successful.

That went for a touchdown, in part because the defense bit so hard on the run that the nearest defender was actually back in Tecumseh.

*Come on, reaching into a bag of tricks is so 90s. Nobody carries a bag of tricks anymore.

The 7-0 lead was great…but it didn’t stop there! On the ensuing kickoff, a Bulldog wrested the ball from the Tecumseh kick returner’s arms. A few seconds later the ball was again in the end zone.

Unfortunately, Tecumseh settled down and managed to pull back within one at 14-13, which wasn’t very nice of them.

You can see from these photos that it quit raining in the first half. As the homecoming shots above show, though, that didn’t last long enough.

Late in the second quarter, the ball zipped down the field and ended up inside the five. No, not on its own. This guy helped:

A couple plays later the ball was in the end zone.

Later, apparently a bit miffed at having not finished his earlier run in the end zone, Mr. Edwards took off on another lengthy scamper. This time he was running through the rain, and this time he ended up in the end zone.

Though it wasn’t what you might call a downpour, the rain was surprisingly heavy at times.

Tecumseh managed to put two second-half touchdowns on the board, and late in the game Chelsea’s lead was down to a slim 31-28 lead. Tecumseh ended up with one final possession to put points on the board…and the rain registered its disapproval of Tecumseh’s efforts.

Tecumseh got uncomfortably close to Chelsea’s end zone despite the rain, but a penalty for a chop block pushed them back 15 yards, and Alex Maloney put an end to their hopes with an interception in the end zone on fourth and 21.

The Bulldogs were pretty happy about it.

With the win, the Bulldogs kept alive their hopes for a six-win season to automatically qualify for the playoffs.

Hey guys, did you hear me? You can still get six wins!

That’s more like it.

Next week brings Dexter to town. BEAT DEXTER.