Chelsea football is off to a great start to the season, going 5-1 through the first 6 games, falling just short to the famed rival Dexter Dreadnaughts. The history between Chelsea and Dexter is deep, especially when it comes to football. Before the 2022 season, Chelsea won 28 straight games against Dexter, as the 2 teams face off every year because of their proximity, which is why it became such a big rivalry. But now that seems to come to an end, with the contract between the 2 teams expiring and not a guarantee that it will be renewed. There are lots of people wondering who will take Dexter’s spot as Chelsea’s biggest rival.
“I think Adrian will be our new biggest rival, one of the teams we play every year in the SEC,” junior Cooper Adams said. “We don’t like them, and they definitely don’t like us.”
The SEC white is the conference Chelsea is in, including Adrian, Tecumseh, Pinckney, Jackson, Ypsilanti, and now this year, Lincoln has also joined the SEC white. These are the teams Chelsea plays every year in pursuit of the league title.
“I think the rivalry-type relationship with Pinckney has been growing over the last couple of years,” senior Luke Cavanaugh said. “I definitely think they’ll turn into a real rival.”
Pinckney and Adrian are always big games, just like Dexter every year, but the games with Adrian have been more and more intense every year. The most recent game was a 29-12 victory for the Bulldogs, but it was a dog fight the whole game. It was the first home game of the year, and along with Future Bulldog Night, the atmosphere really intensified the game.
“I think Adrian definitely already is a rival, and that rivalry will only grow more now. Every year we play a good, intense game with them, definitely a good, real rivalry,” senior John Chapman said.
Pinckney, a cross-town rival, is always a good, intense game as well. In 2024, the two teams met in the regular season at Chelsea, and the game ended 7-0. Then, later in the playoffs, Chelsea played the Pirates again at home, and once again a very close game, but Chelsea came out on top. No doubt the Pirates will want some revenge, but the Bulldogs are ready for anything.
“I mean, we’ve beaten [Pinckney] for the past however many years, so I think that one will carry on. But who knows? I definitely think that's a good rivalry game every year,” Cavanaugh said.
The growing relationship with Adrian really seems to be taking off to be a full-on real rivalry. In Chelsea, we mark that game in the calendar every year, and over in Adrian, they have their own special things they do to gear up for the Chelsea game as well.
“I think Adrian already is a big rival, and they actually, every year, the week they play us, have a ‘#TDC’ sticker, which stands for ‘take Down Chelsea.’ So that game is really big to them, and we take pride in taking care of them as well,” senior Cody Kennard said.
