Varsity 2008 record: 8-2 (6-2 SEC)

Though Chelsea’s thrilling overtime victory over Bedford in week 9 kept its hopes alive for a home playoff game, its unexpected loss to Tecumseh in week 8 still left some doubt as to the location of its first-round playoff game.  But to the delight of everybody who wasn’t signed up to work the concession stand, the Bulldogs’ 7-2 record was enough to keep Jerry Niehaus Field alive for another week; however, to the dismay of everyone who likes a little variety, the week 10 opponent would be a familiar face: the Milan Big Reds.  (Also, to the dismay of everyone who likes a little candy, the game would be played on Halloween.)

Though Milan departed the Southeastern Conference after the 1999 season, the series continued as the schools met at the end of the regular season six out of eight years.  Chelsea dominated the nonconference matchups, winnng all six games; perhaps due to this imbalance and to Chelsea’s penchant for playing larger schools, the series ended after a 20-7 Chelsea win in 2007.  Few expected to see Milan again for at least a few years … until the playoff system worked its wacky All The Old Familiar Teams magic — remember last year’s SEC-ful playoffs? — and sent the Big Reds back to Chelsea.

Milan no longer had its Studly Stud McStuderson 2,000-yard running back Ron Spears, who had the audacity to graduate; still, they were not without a Studly Stud: this year’s was David Box, a defensive lineman and fullback (and future Western Michigan Bronco) who has caused mass chaos by accidentally blocking the sun and casting a terrifying shadow over southeastern Michigan.  (He would have cast a shadow over northern Ohio, too, but everybody knows the sun doesn’t shine in Ohio.)  His presence on the defensive line provided one of the key matchups for the game: the Really, Really Big Red defensive line against the really, really prolific Bulldog running game.

Chelsea took the opening kickoff and moved quickly inside the 10 yard line, and it looked like Chelsea would take an early lead; however, like a panda bear in captivity, looks can be deceiving: on fourth and three from the nine, Milan intercepted the ball to end Chelsea’s scoring threat.  Actually, the Big Reds did more than just end the Bulldogs’ scoring threat; after the offense moved the ball past midfield, Milan running back Demetrius Love showed the end zone a little love on a 42-yard touchdown run to give his team a 7-0 lead.  Chelsea also crossed midfield on its next possession, but its big play was a punt: Michael Roberts put the ball where it needed to be, and the Bulldogs managed to down it at the one.  But Milan didn’t mind the cramped quarters; the Big Reds moved the ball briskly away from danger and soon found themselves at their own 40 … after which they found themselves in Chelsea’s end zone thanks to a 60-yard pass.

Where’d Steven O’Keefe go?  Why, he’s right behind you!

Nick Hill has that hippity-hop…

…And Chad Schiller has that stoppity-stop.

Facing an unsettling 14-point deficit, the Chelsea offense finally took offense at Milan’s winning ways; they cut Milan’s lead in half with a six-play drive featuring five runs by Nick Hill, the last of which was a 34-yard touchdown run.  With the Bulldogs gaining steam, the teams lined up for Chelsea’s kickoff … and then, with 9:17 to play in the second quarter, the field looked something like this:

That’s right: before Roberts could kick the ball, the stadium lost power, plunging players and spectators alike into darkness and hilarity.  (Why do I say hilarity?  Well, because when the crowd responds to a power outage by cheering and waving cell phones like lighters at an Air Supply concert, I think it’s pretty hilarious.)  The teams went to the locker rooms, several vehicles used their headlights to illuminate the walkways around the stadium so the spectators could move around safely, and everybody waited patiently for some word concerning the fate of the game.

When the power goes out, cheerleaders light up their own lives.

If this were TV news, their voices would be altered, too.

Eventually, principal Julie Deppner provided that word: a fuse had blown in a transformer in the school, and the city was working to fix the problem.  Finally, after an hour and a half, the lights came back on, and it was announced that the game would begin after a 15-minute warmup … but with one small change: the lengthy intermission would serve as a crazy-long halftime, and the break between the second and third quarters would be a mere three minutes.

After the eternal halftime, the Big Reds took the kickoff and held the ball for over seven minutes as they drove down inside the 10; however, the Chelsea defense pushed back, and Milan was left with a field goal attempt on fourth down from the 15.  But that didn’t go so well; the kick sailed wide left, and Chelsea took over with two minutes left in the half.  Things were looking good after Roberts threw to Steven O’Keefe for a 41-yard gain, but a late sack forced Chelsea to rush the kicking unit onto the field for a 50-yard field goal attempt; with time nearly expired, Roberts put his foot into the ball and launched a kick that narrowly cleared the crossbar, bringing Chelsea within four points at the end of the first half.

When push comes to shove, Tim Rosentreter will push and shove.

Riley Feeney doesn’t have time for you right now.

This play is not long for this world.

The third quarter didn’t start well for the Bulldogs, as they had to kick three times: Roberts’ first kickoff went out of bounds and — after Milan chose not to take the ball, but to have Chelsea kick again — the Bulldogs were offsides on the second kick, and the penalty pushed them back to the 30 to kick yet again.  Much to Milan’s chagrin, the third kick was a good one, and the Big Reds ended up a few yards shy of where they would have been had they taken the ball the first time.

After that burst of oddity, the game settled down, and the teams traded punts throughout the third quarter.  But then on a fourth and one at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Hill carried the ball not just for one yard, but for 33 yards and a touchdown; with that score, Chelsea took its first lead of the game, 17-14.  That score also energized the defense, and Milan went three and out; to make matters worse for the suddenly-reeling Big Reds, their punt became a bit disoriented and sailed out of bounds after traveling only 16 yards.  Chelsea took over inside the 30 and made it count: on third down, Roberts hit Michael Lenneman with a 28-yard touchdown pass to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 10.

If he were a lumberjack, he’d be yelling “Timber!”

This sight never gets old.

You can be tackled, or you can give him the football.  It’s your choice.

Milan, still wondering how that 10-point deficit got there, again went three and out, and Chelsea got the ball at midfield; however, the Bulldogs also went three and out, and Milan got the ball back with under six minutes to play and an increasingly desperate need to score.  But there was no relief for the desperation as the Big Reds went four and out and handed the ball back to the Bulldogs, who, in turn, handed the ball back to Hill; three plays later, he scored from the nine, and Chelsea’s lead was 17 with under three minutes to play.  With one more chance to do anything, Milan again went four and out, and Roberts took a knee to seal a 31-14 victory.

Leftovers:

• The Milan defense held Chelsea scoreless for the first 15 minutes of the game, but that’s okay: the Chelsea defense held Milan scoreless for the last 35 minutes of the game.
• Nick Hill had a fairly typical game (27 carries for 163 yards and 3 touchdowns), but in a bit of a change from recent weeks, the Bulldogs also had a passing game: Michael Roberts completed 10 of 13 passes for 130 yards and one touchdown.
• The lengthy delay was a little disorienting: near the end of Milan’s first drive after the game resumed, Chelsea coach Brad Bush took a timeout with two minutes to play in the second quarter because he wanted to save time for his offense.  That makes all kinds of strategic sense … except thanks to the 105-minute delay, I thought the game was approaching the end of the third quarter, and I was baffled by Bush’s choice to take a timeout at that point in the game.  After a moment, I realized it was only the second quarter, and it all made sense.

Next week:
Chelsea faces the Other Bulldogs of Mason; the game is in Mason on Friday at 7:00.