The Chelsea Hornets and Shelby County Wildcats went head-to-head Friday night in a matchup that ended up playing a huge role in both teams’ playoff plans.

The Wildcats came out on top in the game edging Chelsea, 19-15, and locking up the fourth and final playoff berth in Class 5A, Region 3.

The Hornets suffered a loss with the injury of quarterback Coty McLaughlin, who has played consistently for head coach Watt Parker’s team for most of the season.

&8220;We’ll just have to see how he does,&8221; Parker said regarding the injury. &8220;It’s definitely a day-to-day situation.&8221;

The Wildcats, however, were not without their own bad news coming out of the rough game. Quarterback Aaron Howard, who replaced injured starting QB Josh Dikis early in the year, went down with a finger injury.

Breland said while he was happy to get the win, he was disappointed in his team’s play.

&8220;I thought we played hard when we needed to,&8221; Breland said. &8220;But we had several big breakdowns all over the field and definitely have a lot of corrections to be made.&8221;

Parker said his team proved to be its own worst enemy in the game.

&8220;They just kicked us in the pants,&8221; he said. &8220;Except for a big play here and there, we definitely had a chance to win.&8221;

Despite the loss Parker said he was happy with the play of backup freshman quarterback Blake Yance.

&8220;I was really proud of the way he played for us,&8221; Parker said. &8220;He came off the bench and gave us a lot of heart.&8221;

Davin Palmer also had a big night for the Hornets, finishing with 156 yards on 19 carries and one score.

Shelby County was paced by the play of Tyrone Buie, who came in and played quarterback for the Wildcats after Howard went out. Kaderius Lacey also played big for the ‘Cats, finishing with 92 yards on two carries including a 89-yard touchdown scamper on his first carry of the night.

The Wildcats (6-4) travel to McAdory (9-1) this week in the first round of the AHSAA 5A playoffs, while the Hornets (8-2) host Moody (5-5) at home on the opening night of the 4A postseason