The Chelsea Hornets were heavy favorites to beat Vincent in last Thursday’s Shelby County high school football opener, but the Yellow Jackets gave their 4A opponents quite a scare.

Class 2A Vincent trailed by as few as 7 points early in the third quarter after lightning delayed the first half for nearly an hour, but Chelsea managed to pull away to a 41-26 win.

Chelsea had little trouble moving the ball as Juan Grier rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

David Strider rushed for 47 yards and two touchdowns while Casey Morris and Daniel Dempsey also rushed for Chelsea touchdowns.

D.J. McGuire recovered two fumbles for the Hornets, one for a touchdown, while Cody Wilson led the Chelsea defense with five tackles.

Vincent scored on a 89-yard kickoff return by Darnell Kelley and two touchdown passes by Steven Adams.

Adams connected with Leo Chancellor and Octavious Looney for touchdowns of four and nine yards, respectively. Desmond Yowe also had a 1-yard touchdown run.

The Yellow Jackets appeared to be much improved after a 1-10 season last year