Chelsea High School head football coach Wade Waldrop usually hopes the score isn’t indicative of how well his Hornets played in a tough loss.

Friday night, however, Waldrop said the 23-7 loss to Sylacauga didn’t indicate how well the Aggies performed.

“Their quarterback and running backs did a great job,” Waldrop said. “They can play for anybody.”

Jake Ganus scored the only touchdown for Chelsea on a 4-yard run in the third quarter. The touchdown run was set up by a blocked punt by Jake Chisholm.

Waldrop said Sylacauga finished with more than 500 yards in total offense. The Hornets defense came up with a few key stops, Waldrop said, but the Aggies made enough big plays to come away with a victory.

“They are very physical and they play fast,” Waldrop said. “Our defense played hard and made some key stops. We made way too many mistakes in the first half. When they made mistakes, we never could capitalize on any of them.”

Chelsea (2-4, 1-3 in Class 5A, Region 4) will take on region opponent Briarwood Christian on Oct. 9.