Plenty about this football season has been unfamiliar for Chelsea fans, and the circumstances of week 6 were no exception: Chelsea came into the game under .500 to face a 4-1 Lincoln team.

Let’s all take a moment to fully appreciate how bizarre this was. First of all: the last time Chelsea started a season 0-3 was 1997. That also marked the last time Chelsea was under .500 through week 5. Oh, and that also marked the last time Lincoln beat Chelsea. And up until the Railsplitters’ surprising playoff berth in 2011, 1998 had been the last time Lincoln had started 4-1. (They started 4-1 in 1997 as well. What was up with 1997?) So this was like flashing back to when I was a teenager, and that’s just…strange.

In case you missed it in that fact-packed paragraph, Lincoln hadn’t managed to beat Chelsea since 1997. Worse yet, from 1999 through 2010, Lincoln didn’t manage more than two wins in any season. It’s been a rough stretch over there. But with the program’s remarkable resurgence and with Chelsea’s uncharacteristic struggles, 2012 presented Lincoln a prime opportunity to end its losing streak.

Where most schools have gone to reusable banners with velcro for the teams to run through, Lincoln has held on to the old-school custom of making a new paper banner every week.

You know what? I appreciate that effort. Well done, Lincoln.

(If you’re wondering, the flag was for holding, and it wiped out a pretty good gain for Chelsea.)

The above photo shows Lincoln’s second touchdown of the game, scored later in the second quarter. Lincoln held a 14-7 lead at that point. Chelsea answered with an impressive drive of its own to tie the game at 14 just before halftime. I’d prepared myself for a close, stressful game, and that’s exactly what it had been. But the second half was…absolutely nothing like the first. Chelsea ran the show in the second half.

One of the players who helped Chelsea take over the second half was Berkley Edwards, seen running free in the above photo. Edwards ended up with well over 200 yards and four touchdowns, one of which is pictured below.

Also to be commended is the Chelsea defense, which went up against an offense that excels at big scoring plays and limited it to a measly six points in the second half. It was an impressive effort.

The above run ended with Edwards’ fourth touchdown, this one late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

While the Bulldogs celebrated the win with a gusto normally reserved for playoff games, the Railsplitters took the loss hard.

With the win, Chelsea improved to 3-3 and stayed in the hunt for a playoff berth.

This week the Bulldogs are back at home for a HUGE homecoming game against undefeated Tecumseh for the SEC White championship. The game is in Chelsea on Friday at 7pm. Be there!