Homecoming kings: Rebels roll past C-P, 27-6

A Homecoming Queen was crowned Friday at The Swamp and, if Rivercrest crowned a Homecoming King, they could have found a number of candidates after the Rebels’ game against Como-Pickton.

Thanks to strong efforts on both sides of the ball, the Rebels served as their own Homecoming Kings Friday after rolling to a win over the Eagles, 27-6.

Selena Kelley was crowned 2022 Homecoming Queen prior to kickoff and the Rebels wouldn’t need long after that ceremony to get on the scoreboard. After runs by Zane Dees and Mark Grider, Chase Duffer hit Connor Young across the middle of the field and Young sped away for the 70-yard score. Young then added the extra point for the early 7-0 lead.

Como-Pickton looked to answer after a 35-yard kickoff return by Carlos Perez put the Eagles at midfield, but stops by Grider and Ethan Taylor put an end to the drive after four plays.

The Rebels looked to be in good shape on the next drive after a 15-yard pass to Grider and an 11-yard rush by Dees. Unfortunately, C-P forced a fumble recovered by Kevin Hernandez to put the Eagles back in business.

A steady diet of carries from Eagle running backs Hernandez and Ian Rodgers pushed C-P to the Rivercrest 19-yard line, but the Rebel defense stood to force a fourth down field goal attempt by Perez that sailed wide.

Dees had a few carries to get Rivercrest near their own 30. Duffer completed a 23-yard pass to Connor Herring. The Rebels reached the Eagle 30 thanks to more runs from Dees and a 16-yard pass to Young, but another fumble ended up in Hernandez’s hands to end the drive.

C-P’s next drive wouldn’t last long thanks to a stop by Jake Ross and another fumble, recovered by Noah Altal. The Rebels took over at the Eagle eight-yard line and Dees accounted for all eight yards, finishing with a one-yard plunge to extend the lead to 14-0.

Taylor and JaQuan Brown joined forces to end another Eagle drive and force a punt. The Rebels needed just one play to score when Duffer found Young on a bubble screen. Young unleashed a juke that sent two Eagles out of bounds on his way to the 40-yard touchdown. Young then hit the extra point and, feeling good about his performance to that point, walked off the field with the Conor McGregor stride as the Rebels went up, 21-0.

The Eagles tried to get one more drive in before the end of the half, but Grider intercepted an Alex Perez pass to end the first half.

Grider also ended C-P’s first possession of the second half with a pick. Duffer made it pay off on the next play with a touchdown pass to Herring for a 27-0 lead.

The remainder of the second half went by quickly. Both teams had a penalty-filled finale, mostly on procedure penalties. Hernandez picked off a Duffer pass to the end zone in the fourth quarter and Cash Wilton broke through to block a Rivercrest field goal attempt, setting up Como-Pickton’s score.

Hernandez broke loose on a 23-yard run, then a face mask penalty pushed C-P closer to the end zone. Hernandez then got free for 18 yards to the Rebel one. Alex Perez scored to put the Eagles on the board, 27-6.

Chance Duffer ended any hopes of Como-Pickton drawing closer with a late interception, and the Rebel defense closed the show with a fourth down stop as time expired.

Chase Duffer finished 11-16 for 249 yards and three touchdowns against an interception. Young caught four passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Dees ran for 60 yards and a score and had 59 receiving yards. Herring finished with 44 receiving yards and a touchdown and Austin Piper rushed for 14 yards.

Brown rushed for 21 yards and finished with 12 tackles on defense. Taylor had 11.5 tackles and a sack on the night. Grider had two tackles and two interceptions. Chance Duffer added three tackles and a pick. Noah Altal finished with 4.5 tackles and a fumble recovery and both La’Brodrick Rosser and Aaron Raulston added three stops. Dalton Lovett added 10 assists on stops. Joe Valdez, Cason Fields, Gus Johnson, Kaden Kelsoe and Gatlin Galloway all added tackles.

The only drawback to the Rebels’ performance was the amount of penalties the team suffered. Rivercrest was flagged 12 times for 109 yards.

“We’ve got to control penalties,” said Rebel Head Coach Ty Huie. “We got hit with holding calls, illegal man downfield calls, personal fouls and pass interference. We just had a lot of penalties in that second half.”

Coach Huie said the second half – despite the penalties – gave his team an opportunity to see what players could do in different roles.

“We wanted to try some different things offensively and get some different looks,” he said. “I want to see guys do different things and that’s what we did tonight. We moved the ball well and did what we needed to do.”

Coach Huie said the team’s winning streak, now at three games, was breeding confidence in his team.

“It’s easy to have energy when you’re winning,” he said. “They’re holding that energy and showing it each game. As a coaching staff, we’re not having to do very much.”

The Rebels will look to maintain that energy Friday on the road at Cooper. The Bulldogs are 5-0 in district and opened the slate with a 49-6 win at Wolfe City last week. Quarterback Colin Ingram went 6-7 for 64 yards and a touchdown and ran for 52 yards. Markel Smith rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass. Jackson Fogelberg ran for 44 yards and a score and Canon Ingram ran for 43 yards and a touchdown. Adryean Finney-Mapps added 52 yards on the ground and Julian Castorena ran for 32 yards. Sean Patel had 33 receiving yards.

Alfred Wilkerson led the Bulldogs defensively with 11 tackles. Fogelberg and Zachary Harper Jr. both added eight stops. Fogelberg and Denver Wood both had interceptions against the Wolves.

Coach Huie said he knows it will be a battle against the Bulldogs.

“We have to play physical and play really good football to beat Cooper,” Coach Huie said. “They’re a very good football team, very physical and very fast. We’re going to have to give it everything we’ve got.”