Shelby County tightened its grip on control of the series with Chelsea, using a smothering defense and an efficient offense to down the Hornets 38-14 at Chelsea Field Friday night.

&uot;Shelby County whipped us in every aspect of the game,&uot; said Chelsea coach Watt Parker. &uot;We couldn’t keep the ball and we made too many penalties. Shelby had a great game.&uot;

Both teams went into the game scheduled for postseason play. Chelsea (7-3) entered the contest on a four-game winning streak in Class 4A, Region 5 while the Wildcats (7-3) had just suffered a 5A, Region 3 loss to top-ranked Homewood.

&uot;We were concerned early in the week because Homewood took a little out of us,&uot; said Shelby County coach Bruce Breland. &uot;But we came out and had a really good practice.&uot;

Shelby County was able to translate that success to the field during Friday’s game.

Shawn Lacey put the Wildcats on the board early in the first quarter, punching in a 2-yard run for a touchdown. He finished with 29 yards rushing on three carries.

Lacey’s run gave Shelby County a lead it never relinquished.

Aaron Howard, who split time at quarterback with Josh Dikis, scored for SCHS on a 3-yard run in the second quarter.

Dikis finished 8-for-12, passing for 154 yards and two touchdowns, both strikes to receiver Brandon Burns.

Burns showed why he is considered a Division 1 college prospect on a 63-yard touchdown play. He finished with five catches for 119 yards.

Matt Ling had 96 yards on three catches for the Hornets.

Chelsea quarterback Casey Morris was 13-of-23 for 176 yards. He was intercepted three times by the Shelby County defense.

The Hornets’ leading rusher Juan Grier was also held in check, picking up only 20 yards and one touchdown on nine carries.

Marc Lemley led Shelby County with 14 tackles.

Chelsea will play at North Jackson (8-2) while Shelby County will travel to Citronelle (9-1) for the first round of the playoffs this Friday night