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Chelsea lost out on a chance to clinch the three-seed as Benjamin Russell blanked the Hornets for their third straight loss. (For the Reporter/Cari Dean)

By SAMUEL HIGGS | Special to the Reporter

ALEXANDER CITY – A steady dose of running back TJ Wilson helped carry Benjamin Russell (5-4, 4-2) to a massive win over 6A Region 3 opponent Chelsea (6-3, 3-3), 34-0 on Oct. 25.

Chelsea (6-3, 3-3) was led by running back Chase Stracener, who seemed to be the only player on offense who garnered any traction against Benjamin Russell. He broke two long runs for 45 and 35 yards, but other than those two big plays he was either met in the backfield or at the line of scrimmage.

“Offense did not play very good at all,” Chelsea coach Todd Cassidy said. “Probably the worst offensive performance we’ve had all year. We had some health issues, sickness issues throughout the week. I don’t know if that bothered us or what, but we can’t make an excuse.”

Wilson carried the offense on his back rushing for 136 yards against the Hornets, and his performance in turn helped propel the passing attack to some big chunk plays.

Wide receiver Cederian Morgan finished the night with 101 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while also running one in from 3 yards out. Kaleb Robinson also joined in with two catches for 58 receiving yards and a score.

“TJ’s fully healthy now and that makes a big difference,” Benjamin Russell coach Smitty Grider said. “The offensive line did a great job of controlling the line of scrimmage. We made some big plays in the passing game because they were having to commit to the run.”

It has been back-to-back weeks of shutouts for the Wildcats defense with defensive lineman Kalib Spivey picking up right where he left off. He notched another sack to add to his season total, while also knocking down a plethora of Hornets quarterback Miller Bauman’s passes to the dirt.

Even quarterback Alijah Johnson made some plays on the defensive side of the ball, intercepting a pass in the first quarter.

“They took some lumps earlier in the year, but I think they’ve kind of settled in now,” Grider said. “They had a great plan for the last two games and to get back-to-back shutouts, that’s big. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum into the next week and into the playoffs.”

A win over Chelsea moves Benjamin Russell to the No. 3 seed of Class 6A Region 3, while Chelsea drops to the No. 4 seed.

After starting the season at 6-0, Chelsea has now dropped the past three games all to region opponents. Although the Hornets are still set to face Saraland in the playoffs on Nov. 8, Chelsea has one last game to end the regular season against rival Oak Mountain.

“We’ve got at least two more, we’re going to play like we’re ready to play three, four, five more,” Cassidy said. “This won’t be any problem for these guys to get up for that last one, which is Oak Mountain. We got to lick our wounds; we got beat up a little bit tonight, just get ready for next week.”

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