By Katie McElvy
The Rebels bobbled the return of the opening kickoff as they hosted Banks Academy on Friday in a rematch of the 2023 AA AISA State Championship Game, but that didn’t stop the offense from busting wide open and straight to the endzone in the plays that followed. The opening series saw a 27 yard pick-up by Jacob Norgard and a 14 yard gain by Luke Tarver before Landon Hand ran in the 35 yard touchdown. Tarver punched in the 2-point conversion, and the Rebels took an early lead.
Spencer Newman and Gabe Bridges took control at the line for the Rebel defense while TJ Daniel had a pass break up to force a Jets punt.
One play was all that was needed for the next score as Hand found Tarver in the flat for a 50-yard touchdown. Eli Whorton muscled in the 2-point conversion.
Daniel recorded a pick six on the Jets’ first play of the next offensive series. Kaisen Nix booted through the PAT.
The Jets finally picked up some positive yardage on offense and found themselves in the Rebel redzone when Aiden Anglin brought down an interception in the endzone.
After a penalty and a few offensive miscues, Chambers was their own goal line. That’s when the Rebel run game went to work with Hand picking up 40 yards and Tarver laying down a 45 yard run. Hand scored the touchdown from the 4-yard line to put Chambers up 29-0.
Sam Smith hit the returner hard on the kickoff knocking the ball loose. AJ Noles recovered it for the Rebels, but Chambers had their own troubles with turnovers posting back-to-back fumbles on their next two offensive series. Banks took advantage of the second one getting a pass to the endzone. Daniel intercepted the 2-point attempt.
Tarver picked up a pair of first downs on the Rebels’ next series, and Norgard got the score. Nix’s PAT was good.
The Rebels recorded one more score before the end of the half, a quarterback keeper by Hand. Nix was successful once again, and Chambers took a 43-6 lead into the locker room at the half.
The second half saw two Rebel touchdowns. Whorton busted into the endzone for one score. The Jets fumbled the kickoff which was recovered by Jesse Barton for Chambers. This set up a Hunter Phillips score. The PAT was good, and the Rebels captured another region title with a 56-6 win.
The Rebel offense recorded 407 rushing yards with Tarver picking up 147 yards on 6 carries and Hand earning 129 yards on 5 carries.
Colton Fuller led the defense with 7 tackles followed by Bridges with 4 and Newman and Drew Sheppard with 3 each.
“It was another great win for our team. We are really playing well. Except for two turnovers, it was a really great performance. That wraps up the region championship and home field advantage in the playoffs. That’s nine consecutive region championships which is an incredible feat. A lot of great players, coaches, and teams have gone into that streak, and we don’t take lightly what it has taken to accomplish it. It’s just been an incredible ride, and we feel blessed to have been a part of it. Our team is having a lot of fun playing together, and I feel like we are hitting our stride. Hopefully, we can finish this thing off with our last two regular season games and head into the playoffs on a roll,” said Head Coach Jason Allen.
The Rebels will host Crenshaw Academy for their final home game of the regular season. The seniors will be honored in pregame. Kickoff is set for 7:00 at Torbert-Allen Field.
