The Hornets’ Brett Hancock picked off Moody quarterback Davis Harrison on the final play of the game Friday night to give Chelsea a 14-6 win over the Blue Devils.

The win avenged a second-round loss to Moody in last season’s playoffs for Chelsea and earned the team a second-round game at home against East Limestone this weekend.

&8220;The defense performed great for us,&8221; head coach Watt Parker said. &8220;They played lights out all game and probably had their best game of the season.&8221;

Coty McLaughlin was the player of the game for the Hornets, completing 3-of-4 passes for 22 yards and rushing for 87 yards on 15 carries.

&8220;He was good all night,&8221; Parker said of McLaughlin, noting that the Hornets’ slinger was still recovering from a leg injury he suffered in Week 10 of the regular season.

&8220;We were worried about how he would do with his leg, but he practiced hard this week and made some great plays for us.&8221;

Moody scored first in the contest on a 12-yard pass from Harrison to Austin Barrick in the first quarter, but the Blue Devils’ extra point was blocked. The Hornets were able to respond in the second quarter on a 49-yard run by fullback Billy Barnhill, one of his 16 rushes for 112 yards in the game.

Running back David Strider made two big plays for the Hornets, sacking

Harrison for a big loss in the third quarter that stalled a Moody drive and scoring on a one-yard run in the fourth quarter to give Chelsea a 14-6 lead and a little breathing room.

Strider finished the night carrying the ball 17 times for 99 yards and a score.

The Hornets were plagued by fumbles in the game, however, putting the ball on the ground five times and turning it over four times. Parker said that was unusual for a team that has a +23 turnover rating this season.

&8220;You have those nights sometimes,&8221; he said. &8220;We have a long list of drills that we do focused specifically on holding on to the ball. We’ll be working hard this week to correct those mistakes.&8221;

Parker said Chelsea (9-2) will have to be a lot more disciplined as it prepares to host East Limestone (9-2) Friday night

&8220;They’re just good,&8221; he said. &8220;They have a couple big 300-pound linemen and a quarterback that looks like Michael Vick,&8221; he said. &8220;They play smashmouth football so it will be a drastic change of pace from last week’s game against Moody.&8221;