The Chelsea Hornets made a strong statement in their run for a playoff spot last Friday night beating Corner 31-24 and picking up their fourth region victory.

&uot;It was a great team effort which will we need every game from here on out,&uot; Chelsea coach Watt Parker said.

The Hornets (5-2 overall) have only one loss in region play, a week-4 loss to class-6A, region-5 leader Shelby County.

Corner was the first to scorre and Chelsea fell behind 17-7 early in the game, but the Hornets posted four unanswered scores to take the lead and hold on to the victory.

Chelsea again relied heavily on the ground game rushing for 355 yards on 57 attempts. They attempted only one pass, a 33-yard completion by quarterback Casey Morris.

Morris made his biggest contributions on the ground, picking up 121 yards on 14 carries. His 53-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was Chelsea’s first score, coming after Corner completed a 24-yard touchdown pass.

Corner, in turn, answered Chelsea’s call with a scoring drive ending in an 11-yard run. After the Chelsea offense stalled, Corner added a field goal to increase the lead.

The Hornets responded with a punishing ground game to reclaim the lead and hold off Corner in the fourth quarter to win the game.

Grant Sullivan found the endzone twice, on runs of 14 and 55 yards.

Daniel Dempsey rushed for a 4-yard touchdown and Austin Averitt nailed a 7-yard field goal.

Sullivan finished with 164 yards on 22 carries while Dempsey rushed 16 times for 70 yards.

Parker credited his hustling backs and a strong effort on the offensive line in the victory.

&uot;We had big offensive games by the entire offensive line,&uot; Parker said.

The Chelsea defense was led by Andrew Lafferty who had 16 tackles and Zac Marbury and Doug Pate who each picked off a Corner pass.

Chelsea will travel to face Jemison in region-play this Friday night