The Chelsea Hornets and the Montevallo Bulldogs finished the first half of Friday night’s game in a 0-0 stalemate. But as the running game came alive for the Hornets in the second half, Chelsea was able to pull away from a tired Bulldogs team, defeating Montevallo 26-7.

&uot;We kind of sputtered all through the first half,&uot; Chelsea head coach Watt Parker said. &uot;I thought we played much better in the second half.&uot;

The Hornets utilized the option play using quarterback Cody McLaughlin and an array of Hornets’ running backs to wear down the Montevallo defenders.

&uot;Cody ran the option well for us,&uot; Parker said. &uot;And we had good performances from our backs as well.&uot;

McLaughlin led the team in rushing with 74 yards on eight attempts. The junior quarterback only made five throws the entire game, completing two passes for 16 yards.

The Bulldogs continued to struggle with turnovers during the game, turning the ball over six times against the Hornets.

&uot;I’m very proud of the way our guys played,&uot; Montevallo head coach Jim King said. &uot;But if we don’t have those turnovers, I think we win the football game.&uot;

Putting the ball on the ground has been a problem for the Bulldogs so far this season. The team has turned the ball over 23 times in three games. But King is hoping his team can bounce back from its 1-2 start.

&uot;I told them all last week that I’m not worried about anyone else,&uot; he said. &uot;I’m worried about us. We’ve beaten ourselves so far and we’re doing everything we can to fix it.&uot;

The Hornets took advantage of Montevallo miscues and let their running game do the work.

Davin Palmer and Doug Stanbro combined for 106 yards and one touchdown each for Chelsea.

Parker was concerned, however, with the number of times that his team fumbled the ball.

&uot;We put the ball on the ground too many times,&uot; Parker said. &uot;We fumbled the ball three times and we were fortunate to not lose any of them.&uot;

The Hornets defense was another story for the Hornets’ coach.

The defense really came through for us in the second half,&uot; Parker said.

Walker Kent recovered a Palmer fumble in the end zone for the Hornets, giving Chelsea a 7-0 lead five minutes into the third quarter. Montevallo responded later in the third, with an 11-play, 74-yard drive that ended in a one-yard touchdown run by Bulldogs tailback Brian Fulgham for his team’s only score of the game.

Stanbro and Palmer both added touchdown runs of 12 and five yards respectively, and Billy Barnhill capped of the Hornets’ scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run with 3:48 left in the game.

Montevallo will travel to Fayette County this Friday with hopes of getting its season back on track. The Hornets will play their homecoming game at Chelsea Field this week against Tarrant, a team that Parker said has a lot of weapons.

&uot;Tarrant is a very scary football team,&uot; he said. &uot;They have a lot of speed and talent, and they can score on you from anywhere on the field.&uot;

Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. kickoffs