By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The Chelsea Hornets dropped the Pelham Panthers 55-34 at Ned Bearden Stadium on Oct. 18, picking up their first region win of the season.

The Hornets (3-5, 1-5) finished the night with 409 total yards of offense, 319 of which came on the ground. Pelham (5-3, 3-3) racked up 341 total yards, but lost all four of its fumbles in the loss.

“We’ve lost a lot of tough games. They deserved to win one,” said first-year Chelsea head coach Chris Elmore. “When you’re 0-5 in the region and you’re out of the playoffs, it’s easy to give up. They haven’t, and I’m proud of them.”

Chelsea capped off its first drive with a 35-yard field goal by Taylor Martindale, followed by a 17-yard touchdown run by Austin Washington one play after the Hornets recovered a Pelham fumble deep in Panther territory. Martindale’s PAT gave Chelsea a 10-0 lead.

Pelham added a 23-yard field goal by Austin Bowen on its next possession, but Chelsea answered on a 55-yard touchdown run by Trent Hagin.

Pelham closed the gap to 17-10 midway through the second quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Tyler Brasfield, and tied the game at 17 on its next possession on a 25-yard touchdown run by Moregan Sharp.

Chelsea retook the lead 20-17 a few second before halftime on a 33-yard field goal by Martindale.

After Pelham fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half, Chelsea scored on a 29-yard pass from Hagin to Austin Chadwick, putting the Hornets ahead 27-17.

Pelham answered on a 10-yard touchdown run by Sharp, but Chelsea quickly added another touchdown on a 1-yard run by Hagin.

Pelham opened the fourth quarter with a 25-yard Bowen field goal cutting Chelsea’s lead to 34-27.

Both teams then traded touchdowns, as Chelsea’s Washington ran 45 yards for a touchdown, followed by a 2-yard touchdown run by Pelham quarterback Devon Mines.

The Hornets pulled ahead 48-34 on its next possession on an 11-yard run by Washington. After Pelham turned the ball over on downs on its next possession, Chelsea scored again on a 28-yard run by Aki Coles, bringing the game to 55-34.

Chelsea recovered a Panther fumble on Pelham’s next drive, and kneed the ball for the victory.