1 of 18

The Pelham Panthers won a dramatic Shelby Derby off a Johan Favero brace, but the Chelsea Hornets kept their playoff hopes alive as Max Wever’s last-second goal tied the teams on head-to-head goal differential. (For the Reporter/Jeremy Raines)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

PELHAM – As time ticked away on the Ned Bearden Stadium scoreboard with the Pelham Panthers leading 3-1, the Chelsea Hornets’ playoff hopes were similarly slipping away.

A two-goal win for the Panthers wouldn’t just have given them the Shelby Derby rivalry trophy, but it would have clinched the No. 2 seed out of Class 6A, Area 8, eliminating the Hornets from playoff contention.

Chelsea entered the night needing to win outright to advance or lose by just one goal to take the playoff race into the final round of area matchups. With less than 30 seconds on the clock and the Hornets trailing by two, that seemed increasingly unlikely.

However, Max Wever had other ideas.

With a pre-thunderstorm gust right on his back, Cooper Baumbaugh sent a rolling pass across the top of the box to Luke Miller. The All-State defender turned and made a one-tap pass to Wever in the center of the pitch.

From there, Wever settled the ball with a skill to shake the Pelham defender, and he fired a shot into the low left corner of the goal, getting the ball past the Panthers keeper and cutting the deficit to 3-2 with just six seconds left.

Those heroics gave Chelsea a lifeline for making the playoffs despite the 3-2 loss to Pelham on Thursday, April 10 at Pelham High School as the two teams are now tied 3-3 on head-to-head goal differential after splitting the season series 1-1.

With the teams still tied in the area table after those two tiebreakers, the final playoff spot in Area 8 will be decided on the total area goal differential. Going into the Hornets’ Tuesday, April 15 game against Spain Park and Pelham’s Thursday, April 17 showdown with Briarwood, Pelham has a plus-2 goal differential and Chelsea sits at minus-4.

According to AHSAA rules, the most goals a team can earn toward its goal differential in a given match is four. That means the Panthers must lose to the Lions by at least three in order for Chelsea to have a chance to make up the goal differential.

As for the game itself, the rivalry matchup got off to a wild start as a 10-0 win for the Hornets in the girls game and a rapidly closing thunderstorm prompted both coaches to start the match early to avoid a lightning delay in a crucial area tie. The game finished just five minutes before the storm hit Pelham High School after massive wind gusts played a role down the stretch.

Chelsea got off to a strong start in the match, including a big chance in the fifth minute when Luke Miller picked out Cooper Baumbaugh on the run with a pass from midfield.

Baumbaugh then fired a tight-angle shot from just five yards out on the right wing that went straight into the top far side of the goal. That gave the Hornets a 1-0 lead even as he and his teammates celebrated in disbelief that the shot went in.

While Pelham missed a header off a free kick in the 13th minute, the Panthers made good on another chance a minute later. After Orlando Garcia-Avalos shook a Chelsea defender free to win a duel, he played a ball to Johan Favero, who made a tight-angle shot across the goal from the right wing.

That tied up the game at 1-1 in the 14th minute, and the score line held through the end of the half even after another pair of Panthers chances in the 19th and 39th minutes.

Pelham nearly had a chance to take the lead from the open field in the 45th minute, but Chelsea’s keeper came out and tackled the Panthers attacker on the right wing. The referee gave the Hornets a yellow card and Pelham a penalty kick.

Going up against Chelsea’s second-choice keeper due to the yellow card, Jair Camargo fired his spot kick into the right side of the net for the go-ahead goal and the 2-1 lead.

After a chance for each team in the next 10 minutes, the Panthers kept their momentum going with another big play from the wing. After a cross from the left wing in the 54th-minute, Camargo rifled a shot into the upper 90 to score his second-straight goal and increase the lead to 3-1.

That goal was crucial as it took Pelham’s lead to two goals, putting it on the cusp of clinching a spot in the playoffs on head-to-head goal differential.

Favero sent a shot through the two crossbars in the 64th minute before the Hornets responded with a flurry of attacks.

In part thanks to the wind at their back, Chelsea got strong efforts from Shon McKenney in the 67th minute, Daniel Teixeira in the 70th minute and Wever in the 76th minute. While none of them found the back of the net, it continued to build the momentum in the Hornets’ favor.

Pelham tried to get a shot off in the 77th minute, but the Hornets blocked it with a defender on the ball. Chelsea then got a big breakaway chance in the 78th minute that Pelham had to defend.

That set up the Hornets to strike in the 80th minute as Wever scored with just six seconds left to cut the deficit to one. While it wasn’t enough to keep their hopes of winning the game alive, it was enough to keep their playoff hopes alive for another week.

Pelham went on to defeat Helena 2-0 in the rearranged Paws Cup on Saturday, April 12 to win its second trophy in three days. The Panthers are now 14-4-3 on the year and 3-2 in area play.

They will travel to the playoff-bound Benjamin Russell Wildcats on Monday, April 14 at 7:15 p.m. before Thursday’s crucial area final against the Briarwood Christian Lions on Thursday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m. at Lions Pride Stadium.

Chelsea dropped to 15-4 overall and 2-3 in the area. The Hornets will finish out area play against the Spain Park Jaguars on Tuesday, April 15 at 7 p.m. at Spain Park High School, and they need a win by multiple goals to remain in the playoff race.

More Sports

Spain Park alum, Alabama star Sarah Ashlee Barker drafted by WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks

Montevallo boys, girls soccer sweep area series with Shelby County

Emotions and energy drive Pelham to victory in Paws Cup

Pelham brings the fight, wins Paws Cup for first time