MCC REBELS FOOTBALL SEASON ENDS WITH LOSS AT THE BANK

It was a tough battle, but the MCC Rebel Football team lost 21-28 to the undefeated Breckenridge Cowboys at US Bank Stadium on Saturday, November 15.

The last time the Rebels played in a semifinal was in 2000, and the Cowboys had not been there since 2001.

The Cowboys started the game with the football and drove the field quickly. Gabe Armitage would break off a 13-yard run, Levi Christensen pulled in an 18 yard reception, and David Erlandson got a 16yard run. The Cowboys scored with 11:26 to play in the quarter on a 36 yard touchdown pass to Charlie Kratcha. The extra point made the score 7-0. The Rebels responded with a scoring drive of their own. The Rebels used their ground game to push the ball down the field to score. It was the short runs that picked up their first downs. Gabe Tentinger broke a 10-yard run as did Teague Meyer. The big play came with 7:07 to play in the first, when Carson Lewis made a 37-yard touchdown run, and with the extra point by Aubin Licht evening the game at 7-7. The first quarter ended with the Rebels and the Cowboys tied up.

The second quarter was a whirlwind of points. The Cowboys scored first. With half the quarter nearly gone, David Erlandson scored on a 1-yard run. The extra point by Charlie Eggiman put the Cowboys up 14-7. The Rebels did not go quietly into the good night, as Jordan Sturges led the Rebels attack. The senior broke off double digit runs for 11, 15, and 18 yards. He finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run with 1:17 left to play in the first half. Licht tied the game with the extra point. The Cowboys then got a big Erlandson run of 28 yards to open the drive just before half. The Cowboys used their timeouts well and got to the 2 yard line with 6 seconds left. Erlandson scored his second touchdown of the game with 1 second on the clock. The Cowboys ended the half with a 21 to 14 lead.

The third quarter flew by as both teams struggled to score. Both teams moved the ball, but couldn’t punch it into the end zone. The Rebels put together a 17 play drive led by Carson Lewis, Jordan Sturges, and Teague Meyer. Noah Frisk made a great run for a first down. Then it was Lewis, who scored his second touchdown of the game, with just over 2 minutes to play in the quarter. Licht kicked the extra point and the Rebels once again had the game tied up. It was 21-21 heading to the fourth quarter.

The Cowboys failed to score on their first drive in the fourth quarter, as the Rebels defense held strong. MCC got the ball back and drove the field and with 7:03 to play in the game. The Rebels then faced their biggest chance of the game. It was 4th down and 2 at the Cowboy 4-yard line. The Rebels decided to go for it rather than kick a field goal. The Rebels ran to the right and the play stopped for a 5 yard loss. The game was far from over, tied with under 7 minutes to play and the Cowboys needing to go 91 yards for a touchdown. The Cowboys moved the ball, Kappes and Erlandson had a couple good runs. Then penalties would cost the Rebels - a horse collar tackle gave the Cowboys 15 yards and on the next play an unnecessary roughness penalty on an incomplete screen pass gave the Cowboys another 15 yards. With over a minute to play, the Cowboys David Erlandson scored his third touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run, and the extra point made the score 28 to 21. The Rebels failed to score and their season ended 28 to 21.

The Rebels season came to an end at 9 and 3. Carson Lewis ran for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns and Jordan Sturges added 102 yards and a score. The Rebels finished with 2 more first downs than the Cowboys, but Breckenridge had more big yardage plays. The Rebels finished with 288 yards in total offense while the Cowboys had 266 yards. David Erlandson led Breckenridge with 127 yards and 3 touchdowns.

What a year it was for the Rebels, who will lose 13 seniors to graduation. We wish good luck to Gabe Tentinger, Carter Hanson, Teague Meyer, Jordan Sturges, Lucas Kuball, Quintin Lewis, Luke Iverson, Jaxon Wendorff, Noah Mathiowitz, Aubin Licht, Colby Kesteloot, Gabe Wolski, Broox Platt, and Wyatt Thompson. The Rebels will return next year with a bevy of players who saw key time this year, including leading rusher Carson Lewis. The Rebels will need to replace a terrific group of linemen heading into next season, but if they can do that, a solid group of experienced skill position players will return next season.

With time and effort in the off-season, the Rebels outlook continues to look strong.