By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Editor

OXFORD – With the 38-17 win the Hornets secured on the road against region foe Oxford on Oct. 23, the Chelsea Hornets have wrapped up the No. 3 spot in 6A Region 3 with a 4-2 region record. Chelsea was in a close match up through halftime, leading 14-9 at the halfway point before blowing the game open in the third quarter, subsequently getting out of Oxford with the 38-17 win.

Chelsea never trailed in this game, and quarterback Matt Marquet got the scoring started with an 18-yard scamper in the first quarter, putting the Hornets up 7-0 early. Oxford drove the ball down to the Chelsea 10-yard line as the first quarter expired, but could only muster a field goal out of the drive, which was huge for the Chelsea defense.

Zalon Edwards later scored on a 15-yard run to put the Hornets up 14-3, but an Oxford touchdown before halftime left the game still tight at the half, 14-9.

Chelsea opened the game up in the third quarter, ripping off 17 unanswered points in the quarter to effectively seal the win. Touchdown runs by Marquet, AJ Jones and a field goal from Tyler Thomas gave the Hornets an insurmountable 31-9 lead. Another Jones touchdown run in the fourth quarter put the icing on the cake.

Jones led the way for Chelsea with 126 yards rushing and two scores, while Reynolds rushed for 120 yards and a score and Marquet added 71 yards and two scores as well on the night. Marquet was also 5-for-9 for 92 yards throwing the ball on the night. Michael Waller led the Chelsea defense with seven tackles.

Chelsea ran 65 plays to Oxford’s 61, but outgained the home team 403 total yards to 288 for Oxford.

Chelsea will finish the regular season next week with an away game at Thompson before heading to the playoffs.