By DREW GRANTHUM / Sports Writer

While most of the teams in the AHSAA have to wait until Aug. 30 to kick off the 2013 football season off, fans of the Chelsea Hornets get an early start as the season will begin Aug. 29 at home against John Carroll.

Head coach Chris Elmore said the week leading up to the game has been about making small adjustments.

“You try to focus on little stuff,” he said. “They’ve done a good job all week. They’ve been productive.”

Elmore said the focus in practice has been improving issues found in the jamboree game Aug. 22 against Calera.

One of the drawbacks to playing a Thursday night game is the short schedule teams face. Elmore said the team had to adjust its normal routine in order to be ready for the game.

“We just bumped everything up a day,” he said. “(Wednesday) we walked through and did a situational check.“

Elmore said his staff didn’t like to make players practice on Sundays, but in order to prepare for the game, the team came in and ran a brief practice Aug. 25.

Elmore went on to say that Chelsea and John Carroll share similar qualities.

“They’ve got a new coach, too,” he said “They’re young in some places. They’ve got some good players.”

With the teams so similar on paper, Elmore said the key in the game will come down to the turnover battle. If the offense can hold on to the ball, and the defense can take advantage of mistakes by John Carroll, the Hornets are in good shape, Elmore said.

“I think it’ll come down to line play,” he said. “We won’t have to play some guys both ways this week. If the linebackers can make plays, it’ll be a good night defensively. It’s going to (come down to) line play and turnovers.”

The Hornets will kick off at 7 p.m. Aug. 29 at Richard Conkle Stadium, located at 10510 County Road 11 in Chelsea.