(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.