Still perfect: Red Devils roll past Minuteman

The Chelsea High football team showed no signs of rust after their bye week on Friday when they defeated Minuteman Tech, 35-14 to extend their record to 6-0. Daniel Martinez scored two touchdowns and led a dominating Chelsea offense with 165 rushing yards on twelve carries.

Martinez got his first score in the opening quarter when he broke loose for a 54-yard touchdown run. Nelson Molina then added the extra point with a kick. Chelsea tripled their lead in a hurry in the second quarter, starting with a nine-yard scoring run by Martinez. The Red Devils missed the extra point attempt, but quickly forced Minuteman to punt. On the second play from scrimmage, Nelson Molina found J.J. Rivera for a 66-yard touchdown pass, and Martinez rushed for a two-point conversion.

Minuteman Tech didn’t get on the scoreboard until the third quarter, when they fooled the Chelsea defense on a bootleg pass on a third-and-long play. The Mustangs tried to trick the Devils again when they faked a kick and attempted to go for the extra two, but Chelsea would not be fooled again. They stuffed the run and forced Minuteman to settle for 21-6 deficit with Chelsea still picking up steam.

The Red Devils got another long scoring play later in the third when David Cortes ran 51 yards into the end zone. Chelsea put the game virtually out of reach in the fourth quarter when they went on a long drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Molina, who also kicked the extra point. After that, the Red Devils subbed out most of their starters, and Minuteman Tech was able to score an academic touchdown and two-point conversion with less than two minutes to play.

Coach Stellato was pleased to find that the team that showed up against Minuteman was, indeed, the same one that appeared so dominant in the five games prior to the break. His only complaint was that the Red Devils committed an uncharacteristic eight penalties in the game.

“We stressed to the players all week long that a lot of teams are going to look at how we respond after the bye week and the big victory against Shawsheen Tech [on October 9],” he said. “We did some good things, no question. We got the victory, but we have to cut down on the penalties. We have a tough stretch coming up here in the next three games. We’re going to have to play good, disciplined football if we want to come out on top.”

Martinez’s numbers were the flashiest of the game, but Chelsea also got a big-time rushing performance from Cortes, who finished with 108 yards on seven carries. The Red Devils also got superb outings from several of its defensive players, including defensive tackle Andy Rath (eight tackles, earning him a player of the week mention for Division 4A in the Boston Globe), defensive back Paco Silva (five tackles), defensive end Chris Acosta (six tackles) and defensive tackle Brayan Blanco (four tackles and an assist).

The Red Devils will face their toughest challenge yet on Saturday morning when they travel to Haverhill to play against Whittier Tech. The Wildcats are 7-0 and have scored at least 30 points in each one of their games this season.

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