Freshmen: d. Tecumseh 21-8
JV: d. by Tecumseh 14-52
Varsity 2009: 5-1 (2-1 SEC White)

Varsity 2008 vs. Tecumseh: 26-28L

The sixth week of the season sent Chelsea to unexplored territory: Indian Stadium in Tecumseh.  Yes, Chelsea has been visiting Tecumseh since before the term “indigenous people” was in vogue, but this particular Indian Stadium wasn’t your father’s Indian Stadium.  After the old stadium, a rickety confection of rusting metal, rotting wood and a classic bowl setting much like that of Jerry Niehaus Field, met its end at the hands of an inspector, Tecumseh found itself in the unenviable position of having no home venue for much of the 2008 season.  That sort of nomadic life appeals only to roving bands of gypsies who happen to play football — hey, they may be out there somewhere — so rather than endure the hassle of building new structures on the cramped footprint of the old stadium, Tecumseh put together a new stadium adjacent to its recently-constructed high school.

Nick Dehar had trouble touching his toes…

…And so did Joey Newland.

Don’t worry.  Tom didn’t cut off Tom O’Neill’s hand.

“So…what’s with the black jackets?  Are you trying to be stealthy?”

This particular meeting of the longtime SEC rivals held extra significance for the Bulldogs: last season, a 2-5 Tecumseh team took the field on Chelsea’s homecoming and stole a 28-26 victory out from under a 6-1 Chelsea team.  That unexpected loss stuck in the craw of the Bulldogs, making the 2009 meeting a chance for them to bury last year’s loss under a blanket of triumph.  But that blanket of triumph would have to be oversized to accommodate plenty of points, because like the Railsplitters the week prior, the Indians were coming off a two-game winning streak in which they had scored bundles of points.  And while the Bulldogs had managed to hold Slap Chop Dillon and his minions to a mere nine points, Tecumseh presented a completely different challenge with its stupendously obnoxious Group Hug Offense, an offense whose primary — and maybe only — formation looks exactly like this:

Chelsea received the ball first, so Tecumseh’s Group Hug had to wait on the sidelines for its first chance to hug its way to the end zone.  The good news for Tecumseh is that it had to wait only 44 seconds for its first possession; the bad news was that 44 seconds was all it took Chelsea to put together a three-play scoring drive capped by a Nick Hill 17-yard touchdown run.  In response, the Indians offense also stayed on the field for three plays, but its brief foray into football action ended with a fumble rather than a touchdown.  Chelsea took immediate advantage of the turnover by going four and out, and two plays later, Tecumseh showed its gratitude with an 83-yard touchdown run to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to one.

Chris Ballow isn’t quite Flat Stanley.

Nick Hill can’t hear you!

Brandon Seagraves runs like the wind, even in the rain.

Charlie Hess knows how to kick back and relax.

With the competitive formalities out of the way and the brief rainstorm subsiding, Chelsea proceeded to make the game’s tenor match the teams’ disparate records with touchdowns on all six of its remaining first-half possessions.  Hill scored four of those touchdowns on 15, 32, 3 and 65-yard runs, but he wasn’t the only Bulldog to get in on the fun: Brian Bazydlo scored on a 22-yard run, and Jesse Forner scored on a 69-yard touchdown pass from Brian Paulsen.

Jesse Forner doesn’t need a map to find the end zone.

Paul Ulisse just wanted Nick Hill to know what it feels like to be tall.

Isn’t it nice that the Bulldogs know how to share?

Meanwhile, the Group Hug struggled to find the same affection it had unleashed on its first drive, ending its six remaining first-half possessions with a wide variety of futility.  All told, Tecumseh’s difficulties on both sides of the ball resulted in 40 unanswered Chelsea points and left the Indians in a 47-6 hole at halftime.  As football holes go, that’s a gaping chasm on par with typical Michigan potholes.  And since the Indians’ highest 2009 single-game point total was 46 — a total they achieved in their 46-58 loss to Lincoln — even the rosiest rose-colored Tecumseh glasses couldn’t hide the despondency of the situation.

The Indians didn’t have to wait for the ball in the third quarter, and they made it count with an 83-yard scoring drive to cut into the deficit.  Though the Bulldogs still held a commanding lead, they didn’t want Tecumseh to get any ideas, so they pushed the lead back to 40 with a 32-yard James Rebuldella touchdown.  But Tecumseh got ideas anyway, and those ideas involved scoring three unanswered touchdowns to narrow the 40-point gulf down to an 18-point river with just under five minutes to play.

Nigel Schuh: Football Ninja.

Brian Bazydlo ran fast enough to bleed all the color out of his uniform.

David Slusser can take James Rebuldella higher.

See?  There’s tom O’Neill’s hand right there!

With the Indians threatening to make the game interesting again, Chelsea drove down the field in search of an insurance touchdown, and Joey Newland was just about to score that touchdown when disaster struck in the form of a fumble at the five yard line.  Well, disaster tried to strike, but Zack Foster proved himself to be greater than disaster by recovering the ball in the end zone to effectively seal the victory.  Tecumseh managed to score one more touchdown, but it went for naught but appearances as time expired on a 61-44 Chelsea victory that really wasn’t as close as the score indicated.

Odds & Ends

• With his 207 yards, Nick Hill surpassed 1,000 yards for the third consecutive season.
• Tecumseh ran 37 more offensive plays than Chelsea but gained only 11 more yards.
• Tecumseh installed artificial turf in the new stadium, giving Chelsea one fewer chance to play on natural grass.  This is unfortunate because while turf is all well and good, sometimes the game is better with a few grass or mud stains.  This is also unfortunate because like most schools in the area, Tecumseh included permanent lines for every field sport known to humanity, making the field look busier than a MySpace page.  I know, I know: it’s a matter of practicality.  But it’s still an aesthetic nightmare.

Next Week
Chelsea faces the Dreadnaughts of Dexter; the game is in Dexter on Friday at 7PM.