Freshmen: def. Skyline 28-20
JV: def. Ypsilanti 44-0
Varsity 2009: 3-0 (1-0 SEC White)

Varsity 2007 vs. Ypsilanti: 26-14w

Week 3 featured another first-ever SEC game for the Bulldogs, this time against the Ypsilanti Name-Changers.  Unlike last week’s game against Monroe, this was only a first-ever conference game: Chelsea’s first-ever game against Ypsilanti occurred at the Big Day Prep Showdown in 2007, a game Chelsea won, 26-14.  Also unlike last week’s game, this would not be an irregular occurrence: while Monroe joined the big-boned SEC Red, the Name-Changers joined the more svelte SEC White, making the 2009 game the first of many annual conference meetings to come.

When they asked who was ready for some football, Conor Townsend responded enthusiastically.

There’s no humor here.  The flag was at half-mast because it was 9/11.

Beware the steely gaze of cheerleaders.

One of the challenges for a strong team like Chelsea is maintaining its intensity for games it’s expected to win, and this game was no exception: the coaches found reason to be irked at the team’s lackadaisical approach to pregame routines, and the futility of the Bulldogs’ first drive didn’t warm the cockles of anyone’s heart.  But the defense forced Ypsi into a poor punt — seriously, it didn’t even cross the line of scrimmage, so it was more of an intentional fumble than a punt — and Nick Hill defibrillated the Chelsea sideline with a 40-yard touchdown run to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead.

Isn’t it obvious?  Cal Bauer’s favorite song is Van Halen’s “Jump.”

“I know it’s after Labor Day, but we’re the visitors, so we have to wear white anyway.”

In the battle between punters and Zak Giller…well, it’s really not much of a battle.

Another short Ypsilanti possession gave Chelsea the ball on the sunny side of the 50, and Hill finished the drive with a three-yard touchdown run.  His second touchdown of the game happened to be his last: with the game’s writing quite legible on the wall, Hill became a spectator.  A Michigan State-bound spectator who accumulated 98 yards and two touchdowns in less than 10 minutes, but a spectator nonetheless.  (Don’t worry, Chelsea fans: he’s fine.)

Staring sternly at Nick Hill isn’t the same as tackling Nick Hill.

Nick Hill is on a fast bicycle to nowhere.

Trevor Mattson tried to stow away, but the trip ended quickly.

The writing on the wall seemed to become a bit less legible when Ypsilanti marched down to Chelsea’s 14, but Dakota Cooley quashed the Name-Changers’ uprising with a timely interception in the end zone; with that comeback nonsense out of the way, the Bulldogs cleared up the writing with an 80-yard drive capped by a 19-yard touchdown catch by Mason Borders.  As the end of the first half approached, Ypsilanti threatened to score once more; however, the threat and the half ended with a sack by Trevor Mattson, and Chelsea’s 21-0 lead settled down to enjoy the halftime show.

“Is that the football field?  I’ll remember this time, I swear!”

Isn’t that nice?  Bobby Hall is helping him down to the ground.

The third quarter was largely uneventful for eleven and a half minutes, but Ypsilanti ruined the monotony with 15-yard touchdown pass that cut the lead to 21-6.  The trend of excitement continued in short order with a Chelsea touchdown courtesy of a 38-yard reception by Chris Ballow; not to be outdone, Ypsilanti added a second touchdown, and the suddenly-exhausted scoreboard gasped to a 28-12 Chelsea lead.  After a six-minute respite filled with punts and turnovers on downs — well, okay, just one of each — the scoreboard had to work just once more as Chelsea ended the evening’s scoring with a two-yard Joey Newland touchdown run.  After the totally unremarkable final 90 seconds of the game unremarkably expired, the Bulldogs boarded the buses with a 35-12 victory in hand.

Odds & Ends

• The game was played on the eighth anniversary of 9/11.
• The foofaraw over Ypsilanti High School’s mascot ended with a new mascot (the Phoenix) chosen by the school board — the board inexplicably rejected the students’ choice of the Royals — but to the joy of many alumni, not all vestiges of the Braves mascot have been expunged: the water tower that looms over Shadford Field still proclaims Ypsilanti to be the “Home of the Braves.”
• Chelsea accumulated 9 penalties, but that was an improvement over both the first and second games (11 and 12 penalties, respectively).
• A helicopter from Detroit’s Channel 7 circled the game for ten minutes, shooting video for that evening’s 11:00 news broadcast.  Thanks to its presence, the Detroit TV market got to see a Chelsea touchdown on the 11:00 news.

Next Week:
The Bulldogs take on the Adrian Maples.  The game is in Chelsea on Friday at 7PM.