The Chelsea High football team was eliminated from the competition in the Division 6 North MIAA football tournament with a 41-0 loss to St. Clement’s Saturday evening at Dilboy Field in Somerville.
St. Clement’s got off to a fast start, taking the opening kickoff to the Red Devil eight yard line and then going in for the touchdown two plays later.
However, the Red Devils fought back and moved into the enemy red zone twice in the opening period, only to be unable to capitalize on those scoring opportunities. With the Chelsea defense also playing well, it appeared as through the Red Devils, the number seven seed in the D-6 North bracket, would give St. Clement’s, the second seed in the D-6 North, a tough battle the rest of the way.
Chelsea would make two more forays into the St. Clement’s red zone in the second period, but continued to come up empty-handed. However, turnovers paved the way for St. Clem’s to get into the CHS end zone on three occasions, leaving matters at 28-0 at the half.
St. Clement’s put the game away in the third period with a pair of TD’s on a punt return and a long run from scrimmage.
“I thought defensively we started off very well and the players were confident,” said CHS head coach Mike Stellato. “We had opportunities in the first half inside our opponent’s side of the field, but we came away with no points, which was very disappointing.
“The middle to late part of the second quarter was very tough because of turnovers and a lack of execution that resulted in St. Clement’s scoring 21 points,” added Stellato, who had words of praise for junior defensive back Nate Budwah and sophomore running back Jonathan Lamour. “Now we need to move forward to our next game vs. North Shore Tech on Saturday.”
Kick-off for that contest is at 1:00 at Chelsea Stadium.
CHS boys soccer team drops 1-0 tourney decision
The Chelsea High boys soccer team dropped a tough 1-0 decision to Lynn Classical Sunday afternoon at Chelsea Stadium in a first-round contest of the MIAA Division 2 North state soccer tournament.
Chelsea entered the tourney as the seventh seed in the D-2 North with a 12-2-4 mark, while Classical was the 10th seed with a 9-7-2 record. The teams played a common opponent, Revere, during the regular season, with Chelsea having defeated the Patriots 3-0, while Classical lost and tied its two regular season encounters with Revere.
The Red Devils controlled the play throughout the first half and enjoyed some excellent scoring chances. Anthony Ortiz created an outstanding opportunity when he beat a Classical defender and broke in alone on the LC keeper. Anthony struck what appeared to be a perfect chip over the keeper’s head, but the ball hit the crossbar and caromed straight down, inches away from crossing the goal line.
Ortiz was involved in another excellent Chelsea scoring opportunity when he made a nifty centering pass from the endline to teammate Wilbur Tejada, whose solid strike was stymied by a fine save by the Classical keeper.
“We had our chances early, but we just couldn’t reach the back of the net,” said CHS assistant coach Evan Protasowicki. “We came out very strong and took control of the field — the effort was there — but it just was not meant to be our day.”
The nil-nil deadlock prevailed after the intermission through most of the second half. Classical then took advantage of one of its few scoring opportunities when a Classical player was in the right place at the right time to put home a rebound with 13 minutes left in the game.
Chelsea fought furiously over the last minutes to get that one back, including a body-twisting shot by Luis Cruz in the final minute that Luis somehow managed to deliver with a powerful volley, only to have the ball go straight into the LC goalie’s hands.
“If we’d been able to take advantage of those early chances, it would have changed the entire complexion of the match,” noted Protasowicki. “But sometimes, that’s just the way the game goes.”
Despite the loss, CHS head coach Mick Milutinovic and his squad can look back at one of the most successful seasons in CHS history in which the Red Devils won an undisputed Commonwealth Athletic Conference title and senior captain Cruz was named an All-Scholastic.