The Chelsea/Dexter rivalry is a spirited one across many sports, but on the football field it’s been just sliiiiiiightly one-sided: Dexter’s last football win against Chelsea was in 1995, when I was 14, Waterworld was hoping it would just break even, Gangsta’s Paradise hadn’t yet been parodied by Weird Al, and this year’s seniors weren’t even alive. This year has not been good for Chelsea football’s streaks, but the Dexter streak is one the Bulldogs are always determined to protect.

That said, Dexter had to think it had reason for hope: Chelsea entered this year’s game with a 1-6 record, marking the first time since 1997 that the Bulldogs had taken a losing record into the Dexter game. (Dexter and Chelsea were 1-4 and 0-5 respectively going into the 1997 game. Chelsea won 34-28.) By all appearances, this was Dexter’s best chance at ending the streak since the Johnny Benjamin season. (Remember that game? SO STRESSFUL.)

Right after kickoff, the Dexter student section caught on fire (or whatever).

The banner in this photo sounds like a library cheering on good books:

My thanks to the cheerleader who covered up the D in DREADS.

The game was tight with no real scoring threats for the first few drives, but then Ty found a hole and took off down the field.

He didn’t make it into the end zone on that play, but a few plays later the Bulldogs had the lead.

Dexter has been using the slogan “Dread Strong” as a rallying cry for its sports teams. Chelsea students were not impressed.

Fun photography aside: I do not use a flash when shooting football (or any other sport). Some do choose to use a flash, though, and on Friday I happened to hit the button at exactly the same moment a photographer across the field fired his flash. This photo was the result:

Dexter kept the game close in the first half but suffered from a turnover problem. This was the aftermath of one Dreadnaught interception:

It made the defense happy.

Chelsea’s receivers made some outstanding catches on Friday. Here, Tim stretches to make a catch on the sidelines:

During one second-quarter drive, a Chelsea lineman suffered an injury.

Ty tried to score another touchdown…

…but the Dexter defense stopped him just shy of the end zone, so Scott took it in for the touchdown. Here, he shows that he does indeed have the ball in the end zone:

With time running out in the first half, Dexter drove deep into Chelsea territory and threw a pass into the end zone. Much to the delight of the Chelsea fans, that pass ended up in the hands of a Bulldog, and Chelsea took a 14-0 lead into halftime.

One of those outstanding catches happened in the end zone in the second half. Sadly, I was too mesmerized by the play to take photos — it’s hard being both a photographer and a fan! — but here’s how it ended up:

Dexter’s turnover woes continued with a fumble, resulting in this happiness:

Hey, take a look at the next two photos and take a guess at which quarter was about to begin.

Dexter managed to score a touchdown to make the score 23-8, but then Chelsea returned an interception for a touchdown to push the lead to 22.

Was Grant excited about that sack?

Yes.

Yes he was.

Dexter scored one more touchdown, but it wasn’t a 22-point touchdown, so Chelsea celebrated a meaningful bright spot in the midst of a difficult season.

Remember the lineman who was injured back in the first half? He was having a hard time getting around, so two of his teammates took it upon themselves to help him to the joyous postgame huddle.

The Bulldogs finish their season on Friday in Haslett. The game will be at 7pm.