Freshmen: d. Saline 39-28
JV: d. by Saline 9-25

Varsity 2008 record: 2-1 (1-1 SEC)

The Chelsea/Saline rivalry is a long and storied rivalry, full of very storied rivalicious things like wins, losses and ties; in fact, the rivalry dates back nearly 80 years to 1930 — when both schools’ colors were Light Gray and Really Dark Gray, because the world was still in black and white — and through 2007, the rivalry was full of 41 Chelsea victories, 40 Saline victories and 5 ties.  (If you examine the earlier years of the rivalry you may find considerably more ties, but instead of the type on the scoreboard, they would be the type worn around the neck.  Of course, times have changed dramatically; modern overtime rules have rendered the former obsolete, while modern standards of dress have rendered the latter formal.  Only Penn State coach Joe Paterno, whose mid-life crisis caused the Great Depression, bothers to wear a tie on the sideline anymore.)  Of all Chelsea’s long-term conference series, this is by far the most competitive; this means that while Dexter is a main rival across a number of sports, Saline is Chelsea’s primary rival in football.

“Does this helmet make my head look unusually tall?”

In a bizarre coincidence, everyone on the team lost a contact at the same time.

Yes, yellow and blue make green, but that doesn’t make it a school color.

The most notable aspect of this particular installment of the series concerned the Hornets: two games into the season, Saline — typically one of the area’s stronger teams — was a shocking 0-2, having lost to the Pioneering Pioneers of Pioneer and Bedford.  However, the sensible among us knew that, as is the case with most rivalries, Saline’s moribund start to the season didn’t guarantee a Chelsea victory; this meant the sensible among us were properly concerned about the potential of a very angry Saline football team taking the field and looking very un-0-2like.

When the game started, the sensible among us wondered if perhaps we had been a bit too sensible: Chelsea took possession and promptly held the ball for over five minutes while it marched into Saline territory and made funny faces at the Saline defense.  (What, you don’t believe me?  Well, have you seen the face of a football player being tackled?  Believe me, it’s funny.)  But then somebody went beyond making funny faces and attracted a flag for holding, and the drive stalled at the Saline 30 with no scoreboard damage done.  That was no big deal, though, because Saline had the audacity to gain a whole four yards on its first drive, and after a 15-yard punt, Chelsea got the ball back with good field position and a good chance to crunch some numbers.

Say hello to Nick Hill’s large friends, Tim Rosentreter and Nick Hall.

“I thought you said it was going to rain!  Where’s the rain?”

If you want Michael Roberts’ jersey as a souvenir, please ask first.

The second drive was somewhat less successful than the first, as it stalled after only one first down; Chelsea turned the ball over on downs within a few yards of where its first drive had stalled, and Saline was back in business.  But Saline, too, managed only one first down before its offense stalled, and it sent out the punting unit again; this time the punt was a bit more successful, and Chelsea took over with exceedingly average field position — its own 22 — and a fever whose only prescription was not more cowbell, but instead was a score of some sort.  But three plays later, Chelsea put the ball on the ground, and there was much rejoicing in Saline as the Hornets recovered the fumble inside the Chelsea 30.  And three plays later…

…The quarter ended.  But the next play was a Saline touchdown, and Chelsea found itself staring at a 7-0 deficit.  As if that wasn’t bad enough, Chelsea — apparently having developed a severe case of football dropsy — fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Saline took full advantage by scoring a touchdown four plays later.  All of a sudden, Saline had a 14-point lead, and Chelsea had absolutely no idea why everything seemed to be going wrong.  The next drive didn’t help much, as two sacks helped bring out the punting unit in short order; Saline took possession in Chelsea territory and marched inside the 15 before being forced to settle for a field goal.

we’re on ur artifishul turf, takklin ur runnin back.

Must … destroy … quarterback …

Why yes, Nick Hill is a great American.  Thanks for noticing.

It seemed the Chelsea offense was stirred by the defense’s work in preventing a touchdown, because it shook off the ineffectiveness of its previous three possessions to put together a nearly 80-yard drive — key to which were two fourth-down conversions, one a Randy Cox pass to Nick Hill and the other a Cox scramble — to put its first points on the board with a touchdown pass to Brett Everding.  That cut the deficit to a more manageable 10, and it seemed as though Chelsea was finally getting itself into the game.  But the world did have one more bit of unpleasantness to heap upon the Bulldogs before the first half ran out: Saline still had nearly a minute and a half to work with, and it used that time — and a 15-yard face mask penalty — to kick one more field goal to extend its lead to 13 as the second quarter expired.

Tag!  You’re it!  And you’re down, too.

Wait … they have a 55 yard line in Saline?  Is this Canada or something?

Randy Cox would like to take this opportunity to avoid your tackle.

Saline received the ball to start the second half, and in an encouraging sign for Chelsea, the Bulldog defense didn’t let the Hornets cross midfield.  In an even more encouraging sign for Chelsea, the Bulldog offense took possession and promptly jaunted into Saline territory; however, the drive stalled on fourth down inside the Saline 30.  The Hornets celebrated their defensive stand by moving down the field and scoring a touchdown to extend their lead to 20, and most of that early encouragement went out the window.  (Well, since it was an outdoor game, I suppose it would make more sense to say the encouragement went in the window.  I hope the concessions crew enjoyed it.)

Chelsea’s next drive went a whole lot of nowhere, and the hopes for a comeback were beginning to dim as the third quarter wound down.  The dimming paused momentarily when Saline punted the ball right back to Chelsea, but a penalty and a sack put the brakes on the Bulldog offense, and Saline rocked my figures of speech with a 65-yard touchdown drive to take a daunting 34-7 lead with under 10 minutes to play.

I am a football official, and I approve of Brett Everding’s touchdown.

Bareis & Crabtree may sound like a law firm, but it’s not.

Your tackle has failed.  Please enjoy the inevitable effects of gravity.

Chelsea did have another bright spot yet to come, and it occurred on the kickoff following Saline’s last touchdown: Michael Lenneman took the kickoff 90 yards — breaking several tackles along the way — for a touchdown.  (There was a flag on the play, but it was a 15-yard face mask penalty on Saline.)  Chelsea’s onside kick didn’t work (though it definitely wasn’t an onside nudge), but Saline helpfully went three and out, and Chelsea had a shot to bring Saline’s lead back within shouting distance.  As it had on several previous drives, the offense moved the ball well into Saline territory; in fact, it even got the ball inside the 10 yard line.  But two sacks and another negative play brought the drive to a close, and Saline easily drained the clock to end the game and to hand Chelsea its first defeat of the season.

Leftovers:

• The game was broadcast live on the internet thanks to the Great American Rivalry Series; as a part of the hoopla, Chelsea senior Michael Roberts received a scholarship and longtime Chelsea coach Phil Bareis received an award.

Next Week:
Chelsea faces the Railsplitters of Lincoln; the game is at 7:00 on Friday in Chelsea.  Be there.

Freshmen: d. Northville 28-14
JV: d. Northville 10-7

Varsity 2008 record: 2-0 (1-0 SEC)

Before the pre-game meal, Nick Hill is focused on the tastiness that is to come.

After a thrillingly inconsistent week 1 victory over Ann Arbor Huron, Chelsea prepared to face Northville, a team it had never before faced in nearly 80 years of football history.  A few minutes on the internet yielded one crucial bit of information about this heretofore unknown opponent: its mascot was the Mustang.  (It was not immediately clear whether it was intended to be the American feral horse, the American feral sports car or a tribute to the enduring blues classic Mustang Sally.  Traditionalists argued for the first option, car lovers for the second, and legendary blues musician B.B. King for the third; B.B. King won the argument, because … well, come on, he’s B.B. King.  But niggling copyright issues awarded the victory to the traditionalists and their one-horsepower horses.)  Further research, both on the internet and in real life, yielded a cacophony of information that told me nothing in the form of a little bit of everything:

• Michigan-Football.com told me Northville has posted a halfhearted 29-48 record with only two winning seasons since 2000, including a 1-8 record in 2007; however, those winning seasons were 8-4 and 7-3 seasons, and those records are nothing to sneeze at … unless you’re allergic to winning records.  And if you are, you should probably get out of the football business, Matt Millen.
• The week 1 results told me Northville defeated Pinckney 27-7; however, considering Pinckney’s woeful 15-58 record since 2000, that told me roughly as much about Northville as Atlanta’s win over Detroit told me about the Falcons: it told me they’re good enough to beat a struggling program (oh, don’t tell me the Lions’ successful preseason had you fooled).  That could place them anywhere from Not Too Shabby to Pretty Darn Excellent, which is a range that probably includes the majority of teams in the state of Michigan — including Chelsea.
• A knowledgeable Chelsea individual told me Northville was “better than we thought they were”; however, since he didn’t tell me how good we thought they were, that nebulous insight merely confirmed the nebulous insight contained in the previous bullet point.  And, for you math majors out there, nebulous + nebulous = too nebulous.  (All you English majors who tuned out at the word “math” can start paying attention again.)

All that nagging nebulosity meant that I arrived at the stadium on Friday with absolutely no idea of what to expect from the Typically Small And Lightly Built American Feral Horses from Northville.  Of course, in light of Chelsea’s Tale of Two Halves performance against Huron (First half: wow!  Second half: whew!), I really wasn’t sure what to expect from the People Noted For Courageous Or Stubborn Tenacity from Chelsea.  But really, in this modern era of statistical and informational overload, it was unique experience to go into a game without a preconceived box that would end up defining the outcome either as a defiance or a confirmation of existing information; instead of the game being used as proof or contradiction of some presumed knowledge, it could stand alone and simply define itself.  The task of writing these recaps makes me appreciate the wealth of information easily available even in the world of high school football, but sometimes I just want to know less; this game gave me that opportunity, and it was refreshing.

Clearly, Blake Blaha knows the answer to your question.

It’s not so much a chin strap as it is a lower-lip strap.

Chelsea received the ball to start the game, and the offense made a quick journey into Northville territory; however, an incomplete pass on fourth down gave Northville the ball with no damage done.  The resulting Mustang drive was notable for two reasons, one of which was very good and one of which was very bad.  First, the good: Northville’s first play was a rush for only one yard, and the tackle was made by senior cornerback Scott Rhodes, who was seeing his first game action since suffering an extraordinarily serious injury near the end of the 2008 baseball season.  Next, the bad: the very next play saw Northville complete a pass to the Chelsea eight yard line, and three plays later, the Mustangs had a 7-0 lead.

“Wait … where did I leave my car keys?”

Steven O’Keefe just wants to stay clear of Jesse Jaynes’ impending act of violence.

Adam Taylor can sack your quarterback … with his mind.

That wasn’t exactly the start the Bulldogs wanted, but Cody Adams returned the Northville kickoff just past midfield, and it seemed like all was right with the world; sadly, the world still had its issues to work through in therapy, so Chelsea gained all of four yards and went three and out.  Fortunately, the world’s issues also stymied Northville’s offense and special teams; after one Mustang first down and a severely wayward 15-yard punt, Chelsea gained possession with excellent field position.  The Bulldogs didn’t squander the field position this time; four plays into the possession, Michael Roberts tied the score with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jake Mantel.  But this didn’t sit well with the Mustangs, who proceeded to stage an impressive 10-play scoring drive to put Chelsea right back at square -7.

Ah, but that didn’t last even two minutes, as Adams yet again returned the kickoff into Northville territory and, a few plays later, followed that up with a 23-yard touchdown run to yet again tie the score.  And this time it lasted longer than one drive, as Scott Devol intercepted a Northville pass and returned it to the four yard line.  The Mustang defense made Chelsea work for the go-ahead touchdown — Randy Cox had to take it in from the one on fourth down — but with just over three minutes to go in the first half, the Bulldogs finally took the lead for the first time in the game.  A missed extra point meant it was only a six-point lead, but remember: six is more than zero.

Scott Rhodes makes your stiff-arm a noodle-arm.  And then he tackles you.

If it happened at a Chelsea football game, Kenny saw it.  See?  He’s watching right now!

Why yes, Dakota Cooley would love to help you do a somersault.

Northville’s next possession went pretty much nowhere, and Chelsea took possession on the sunny side of the 50 with nearly two minutes to play; however, the Bulldogs gave the ball right back by way of an interception, and Northville had the ball with nearly a minute to put some points on the board.  But there was one small problem: the Mustangs had already used all three timeouts, and they had almost 80 yards to go.  And for you chefs out there, 80 yards, 46 seconds and no timeouts is not the best recipe for success in high school football (although if you added a stick or two of butter, it would be a whole lot tastier).  Northville failed to cross midfield, and the half ended with Chelsea holding a 20-14 lead.

It may look like it, but no, Cody Adams doesn’t use a force field to deter tacklers.

“Do I HAVE to stop hitting when you blow the whistle?”

No, he’s not angry; he’s just determined.

Both offenses continued to stagnate at the beginning of the second half as the opening drives for both teams went backwards.  Northville’s second drive was only a marginal improvement (it didn’t go backwards), but Chelsea’s second drive was a massive improvement, in part thanks to a change of pace at quarterback: Roberts scrambled into Northville territory and, two plays later, hit Michael Lenneman with a 45-yard touchdown pass to extend Chelsea’s lead to 27-14.  Life was good, and it seemed to be getting better; Northville’s next drive stalled, and Chelsea took over and began to drive down the field again.  But a personal foul on Chelsea brought the drive to an abrupt halt at the end of the third quarter, and thanks to a fourth and 21, the first play of the fourth quarter was a Chelsea punt.

And … yeah, that didn’t go so well.  Not for Chelsea, anyway.  Northville blocked the punt and took over on the Chelsea 30 and was all excited and stuff because, you know, punt blocks are exciting and stuff.  That excitement continued as Northville quickly drove inside the ten yard line, but as the Mustangs soon discovered, excitement is not a loyal emotion: the Chelsea defense stood tall and stopped Northville on fourth and goal from the one, and every bit of excitement switched sidelines.  It got worse for Northville as the referee called a personal foul after the play, and instead of starting from the one yard line, the Bulldogs took possession at the 16.  Chelsea didn’t score on its drive, but it took almost five minutes off the clock before it had to punt.

Spirit fingers now; jazz hands later.

Where’s Kyle Coburn?

There’s Kyle Coburn!

Northville took over with two and a half minutes to play and a dire need to score immediately.  Something did happen immediately, but it wasn’t a score; instead, it was a fumble that Chelsea recovered at the Northville 2.  It looked like Chelsea was going to put the game out of reach once and for all, but as always, looks can be deceiving: Chelsea fumbled the ball back on the very next play, and Northville was right back in business.  Very desperate business to be sure, but business nonetheless.  And that business was somewhat successful, but not really: Northville scored to narrow the gap, but it took two minutes to do so, leaving only 20 seconds on the clock.  The Mustangs’ first onside kick attempt was cut short due to an offsides call, and the second attempt was recovered by Chelsea; two plays (and one Northville timeout) later, the game was done, and Chelsea had a 27-20 victory.

Leftovers:

• In his first football action since being cleared to play, Rhodes finished with four solo tackles and one assist.
• Nick Hill didn’t play, though he was dressed and cleared to play.  His absence was again described as precautionary; he should see action against Saline.
• As usual, the Chelsea offense was outgained; this time it was 331 to 245, and it probably didn’t help that Northville ran 15 more plays than Chelsea.  But yet again, Chelsea produced more points than its opponent, and that’s the only metric that matters at the end of the game.

Next week:
The Bulldogs face the Very Angry 0-2 Hornets of Saline; the game is in Saline at 7:00 on Friday. If you can’t be there, the game will be streamed live on the internet as part of the Great American Rivalry Series.

(Before you ask: TW3 is the team slogan this year; it stands for Together We Will Win … or Toast Wheat Waffles Whimsically.  I think it depends on your hunger level, and whether or not Whimsical Wheat Waffle Toasting is a competitive sport.  If it is, I could probably out-whimsical you.)

Freshmen: d. Huron 46-8
JV: d. Huron 21-12

Varsity 2008 record: 1-0 (1-0 SEC)

It was nice of Huron to place these pipes near the field in order to catch football players when they fall.

Back in the late 90s, Chelsea added Ann Arbor Huron as one of its non-conference games.  At that point, Huron was one of the top football programs in the area, while Chelsea was still an up-and-coming team under its new coach, Brad Bush; however, Huron won the first game and then proceeded to rest on its laurels for the next four years, exiting the contract with a dismal — and somewhat surprising — 1-4 record against Chelsea.  (Perhaps more surprising is that three of Chelsea’s four victories were by more than 20 points, including an astonishing 53-21 blowout in 1999.)  Since the end of that matchup, Chelsea has been one of the top programs in the area, while Huron has achieved only one winning record, that being a middling 6-4 finish in 2002.

For the last decade, Huron has floated in independence — like Notre Dame, but without the lucrative TV contract — which has made for a lot of driving, some strange matchups (like Ontario’s Chatham Ursiline, which plays Canadian Football That Isn’t American, Nor Is It Curling) and zero conference championships, unless you count its Conference Of One championships, which it has managed to win every year despite stiff competition from itself.  However, the more recent reorganization of the SEC — including the addition of Huron’s crosstown rival, the Pioneering Pioneers of Pioneer — finally gave Huron a conference home, and the 2008 football season marked not just the resumption of the Chelsea/Huron series, but also Huron’s first season in the SEC.

What their expressions say, from left to right:
1)”How much longer do we have to wait?”
2)”I’m ready whenever.”
3)”KILL!”

Uh … seriously?  An arm tackle?  Yeah, not so much.

Unsurprisingly, much of the fans’ pregame focus was on the matchup of the teams’ Studly Stud McStudersons.  For Chelsea, that was its junior running back Nick Hill, who was last seen in Beijing powering through arm tackles on his way to a gold medal in the 100 meter You Can’t Stop Me, and who recently picked up an offer from Stanford; for Huron, that was its junior wide receiver Jeremy Jackson, who is currently being recruited by college football powerhouses like Texas, Michigan and Florida, as well as several small South American countries.  (Recruiting analysts believe Paraguay holds a slight lead, but Ecuador is making a strong push.)  The News found the McStudersons compelling enough to name the contest one of its games of the week and the atmosphere found them compelling enough to provide completely gorgeous weather for the game, which meant there was a sizable crowd eager to watch the first football action of the 2008 season.

That action started quickly, with Hill providing the first burst of fireworks just a few plays into Chelsea’s first drive; he ran to the right and, after breaking a tackle or two, took the ball well into Huron territory, setting up Steven O’Keefe — whose name isn’t pronounced “oh-KEE-fee,” no matter what the Huron announcer might try to tell you — for a 9-yard touchdown run.  The Chelsea defense did its part by forcing a three and out, and on the Bulldogs’ ensuing drive, O’Keefe and Hill traded places, with the former setting up the latter for a touchdown; just a few minutes into the first quarter, the Bulldogs held a surprising 14-0 lead, and some were beginning to wonder if the game of the week was really going to be a game.

First bad sign for the defense: a lineman can’t find anyone to block.

Second bad sign for the defense: even the coaches are getting happy.

Third bad sign for the defense: the ball is crossing the goal line.

Huron began to form an answer to that question when its defense stiffened and its offense Jacksoned; after a catch deep in Chelsea territory by You-Know-Who, Huron cut the lead in half, and it was a game again … until Chelsea scored two more touchdowns in the second quarter — one by Hill, and the other by Michael Lenneman — for a commanding 28-7 halftime lead.  But there was another half of football yet to be played, and the crowd soon discovered that Chelsea would be playing that half of football without its top running back; Hill suffered a thigh bruise in the first half, and thanks to that 21-point lead, Chelsea coach Brad Bush decided to sit him for the second half as a purely precautionary measure.  Could Chelsea hold onto its lead without Hill?  Or would Huron’s offensive firepower awaken and force Hill back into the game?  You probably already know the answer to those questions, so I don’t know why I even bothered to ask!  But hey, keep reading anyway.

Cal Bauer can tackle you without even touching the ground.

“No, Dakota, Plymouth Road is that way.  You were headed towards Washtenaw.”

Does somebody need a hug?  Yes, I think somebody needs a hug!

Huron started the third quarter as quickly as Chelsea had started the first; before long, the River Rats were knock knock knockin’ on the end zone’s door, and a murmur of concern began to ripple through the Chelsea faithful.  The murmur changed to an elated roar when the Bulldog defense stood tall and stopped Huron on fourth and goal, but the roar softened when the offense stalled and gave the ball back to Huron.  The murmur returned when Jackson hauled in a pass for a touchdown, and the murmur became even more murmury after Huron converted a Chelsea turnover into a touchdown thanks to another Braylon-like catch for the Jackson One; all of a sudden, Chelsea’s lead was only 9, and Huron was beginning to dominate.

HULK SMASH!

Michael Lenneman works best with an audience.

The news only got worse when a Chelsea punt, apparently having been shipped without a factory-installed navigation system, went more sideways than forwards, and Huron took possession with enviable field position and a wealth of momentum; another River Rat touchdown seemed nearly inevitable.  But somehow, the Chelsea defense forced a Huron turnover on downs, and the Bulldogs took over with a desperate need to accomplish at least one of two goals:

• Possess the ball for as long as possible
• Score

Both goals looked to be hopeless when Chelsea quickly found itself staring at a third and long; however, senior tight end Jake Mantel caught a short pass and took it a long way — 33 yards — for a massively enormously hugely gigantic first down.  A few plays later, Chelsea was staring at yet another third down, but this time Cody Adams took charge and appeared to be headed not just for a first down but for a touchdown; unfortunately, that particular football was born free, as free as the wind blows, and it hopped out of his arm at the five yard line.  After a mad scramble, Huron recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchback, and just like that, the River Rats were back in business.

Ah, but in this economy, business can be tenuous, and Huron’s business soon ran into serious problems — specifically, a serious problem named Riley Feeney, who intercepted an ill-fated pass and gave the Chelsea offense the ball in Huron territory.  On the very next play, quarterback Randy Cox, having grown weary of the constant drama of the second half, lofted a touchdown pass to a wide open Michael Lenneman.  Huron, apparently startled by the massive momentum shift, subsequently turned the ball over on downs, and once again, it looked as though Chelsea had the game in hand.

Isn’t it beautiful?  Oh, and the sunset is nice, too.

Michael Lenneman REALLY has to go to the bathroom.

That happy feeling lasted for only a few minutes, which is how long it took for Chelsea to fumble the ball away; a few plays later, Huron took advantage of the turnover with a 40-yard touchdown pass (but not to You-Know-Who!), and after a two-point conversion (uh … yeah, to You-Know-Who), Chelsea’s once-commanding lead was down to a vaguely confused eight-point lead with just under four minutes to play.  Time being as short as it was, Huron decided to attempt an onside kick; however, the attempt went only five yards instead of the required ten, which would make it more of an onside nudge.  Chelsea took possession without having to field a kick and ran out the clock without any further excitement to seal the 35-27 victory.

Leftovers

• Chelsea won the game but was outgained by over 50 yards (Huron 388, Chelsea 330).  I’d call this the Jackson Effect; Chelsea rushed for more yards (Chelsea 185, Huron 132), but Huron passed for considerably more yards (Huron 256, Chelsea 138) thanks largely to Jackson’s 95 yards on 6 catches.
• Hill put up good numbers despite playing only the first half; he rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, for an average of 6.6 yards per carry.
• Chelsea has a new addition to the coaching staff this year: Joe Tripodi.  That name should be familiar to those who have been watching Chelsea football for a while; Tripodi was a lineman for the Bulldogs, and he went on to be a starter for Northwestern.  He’s a friendly guy; also, he’s HUGE.  If you ever meet him, be sure to tie some sort of lifeline to your hand; otherwise, it might get lost in Tripodi’s hand when you shake it.  (And no, he’s not the same Joe Tripodi who is a member of the Australian government.)
• Several former players came out to support the team as it opened the 2008 season; I’m not sure how many were there, but I talked to three of them.  It was nice to see.
• Full photo gallery.

Next Week
Chelsea faces the Northville Mustangs; the game is in Chelsea on Friday at 7:00 P.M.  Be there.

Tuesday: Football
Tuesday marked Chelsea’s first day of conditioning in preparation for the upcoming football season.

(Full gallery.)