Chelsea High’s football team delivered a strong performance on both offense and defense Friday evening, defeating West Roxbury 22-14.
An early safety gave the Red Devils a 2-0 lead. After Chelsea’s opening drive stalled near the West Roxbury 10, the defense forced a three-and-out. West Roxbury then mishandled the long snap on the ensuing punt, with the ball rolling out of the end zone for the safety.
The Red Devils capitalized on the free kick that followed, taking over at the W. Roxbury 45. Five plays later, junior running back Yvad Rosado scored on a 22 yard touchdown run. Jeffrey Mejia’s successful PAT extended Chelsea’s lead to 9-0.
West Roxbury answered quickly in the first quarter, connecting on a 75 yard touchdown pass on third-and-15 to cut Chelsea’s advantage to 9-6 by quarter’s end.
During the second period, Chelsea drove into the West Roxbury red zone twice but failed to score either time. Worse yet, with approximately 2:00 remaining in the half, a Chelsea fumble at midfield was recovered by West Roxbury and returned for a touchdown. After a successful two-point conversion, the score stood at 14-9 at halftime.
The Chelsea defense reasserted itself to start the third quarter, forcing West Roxbury to punt. Junior Nate Budwah then shifted momentum with a 63 yard punt return for a touchdown, giving Chelsea a 15-14 lead.
The Chelsea “D” continued to stifle the W. Roxbury offense, forcing another West Roxbury punt from deep in its own territory. The Red Devils got good field position and, starting at their own 40, drove in for the score. The TD came on a clutch fourth-and-14 pass play from CHS junior quarterback Mark Anthony Williams to Nelson Vega. A successful Mejia boot for the PAT made it 22-14 in favor of the Red Devils, which is where matters remained until the final whistle.
CHS head coach Mike Stellato remarked that “http://chelseamass.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/10f6avw.php_9.gif”, highlighting the performances of Christian Calix, Nelson Vega, Jomeal DeJesus, Josue Tehosmy, and Adrial Rodriguez. Mejia also praised the offensive contributions of Yvad Rosado and Francisco Mercedes.
Chelsea will travel to Matignon High on Thanksgiving Day, with kickoff scheduled for 10:00 a.m.