Pelham used passes to receiver Montez Billings to open up the running game against Chelsea, rushing for 194 yards on 45 carries in the Panthers win over the Hornets, 28-7.

Billings had 7 receptions for 114 yards in the contest, preventing the Chelsea defense from sighting in on Pelham’s running backs, led by Drew Burleson.

Burleson responded with 90 yards on 18 attempts including touchdowns runs of 1 and 5 yards.

But it was Chelsea that got on the board first, taking the opening drive 78 yards before the Hornets’ Andrew Lafferty punched it in from the two yard line.

Chelsea wouldn’t find the endzone again the rest of the night, however, as the Panther defense forced four turnovers and stopped the Hornets on 3 fourth-down plays.

&uot;We played very hard, we just made too many mistakes,&uot; said Chelsea coach Watt Parker. &uot;Three fumbles and an interception is hard to overcome against a great Pelham team.&uot;

Pelham moved to (3-2) on the season after defeating class 4A Chelsea who fell to 3-2 with the loss.

All four of Pelham’s touchdowns came on the ground, the first a 7-yard run by E.J. O’Hara.

Quarterback Chase Armstrong scored on a 2-yard keeper with 10:15 remaining in the fourth, giving Pelham a touchdown in each quarter.

The touchdown run was the final score of the night.

Armstrong finished with 39 yards on the ground and completed 12 of 21 passes for 166 yards.

Daniel Dempsey led Chelsea with 87 total yards on 8 rushes and 2 receptions while Lafferty anchored the Hornets’ defense with 16 tackles and 3 assists.

Pelham wll travel to Trussville to face a tough Clay-Chalkville (4-1) team this friday night.

Chelsea goes on the road against Montevallo in a class-4A, Region-5 contest. The Bulldogs are 2-3