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Carter Hanson -
Defense -
Jaxon Wendorff
The MCC Rebel football team was back at home, after a pair of road games, for game 7 of the season. The Rebels had won four straight games coming into Thursday night’s game and were hoping to make it five in a row in hopes of earning a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The Rebels played host to the BOLD Warriors who were back in Slayton for the first time since 1996. That year, the Warriors beat the Rebels. This Thursday, Rebels would get the win and continue their winning streak.
The MCC Rebels have won the last four games in dominating fashion and it often beginning with a strong first quarter and this game wouldn’t be any different. The Rebels scored 21 unanswered points in the first 12 minutes. Gabe Tentinger was first to score, less than four minutes into the game on a 8 yard touchdown run. The two point conversion was scored by Jordan Sturges. Braydon Gilb intercepted a pass on the Warriors next possession and Carson Lewis scored on a 39 yard touchdown run to make the score 14-0. The Rebels got a great punt return by Teague Meyer, putting the Rebels at the 38 yard line. The senior QB would score from there on the next play. The Aubin Licht extra point brought the score to 21-0 with seconds remaining in the quarter. That is when the game began to change.
The Rebels defense played terrific in this game, forcing 4 total turnovers while only allowing one score in the third quarter. The BOLD Warriors, who are a big physical team, were missing their starting quarterback and the Rebels forced them to throw the ball more than they would like too. The big lead forced the Warriors to try and throw, but that wasn’t in the cards. As the Warriors offense struggled, their defense would shine. The Rebels would move the ball, but didn’t show the same type of balance we have seen in the past couple of weeks. The Rebels will never be a team that throws the ball much, but the balance of running the ball inside and outside and left and right, forces teams to try to cover the entire front. Thursday, the Rebels got very right side dominant and the Warriors closed down on the short side of the field. MCC scored one touchdown in the final three quarters by Teague Meyer with 6:30 to play in the 4th quarter. The Rebels got the win 28 to 7. The game was never in doubt on the scoreboard, but there was a lot the Rebels needed to take from this game as they head into the playoffs. The Warriors proved that if the Rebels are not balanced and are not executing their plays the way they should, scoring gets more difficult.
The Rebels dominated the stats, the biggest being the 4 turnovers to 0. The Rebels took advantage of some key Warrior penalties that helped extend drives early in the game. The Rebels rushing attack was led by Carson Lewis and Teague Meyer. Though MCC wasn’t getting tons of yardage, they controlled the clock and kept the Warriors pinned on their end of the field. Braydon Gilb had his second game with 2 interceptions. Carter Hanson had another interception for the Rebels, while Lucas Kuball had a big fumble recovery to lead the way for the Rebels. MCC will wrap up the regular season on Wednesday at home against the Canby Lancers.
