MCC ENDS THE SEASON AGAINST SPRINGFIELD

The MCC Rebels took down the TMB Panthers and then the Adrian Ellsworth Dragons. Friday the Rebels did battle with the Springfield Tigers in hopes of beating the Tigers in a Section title game and advancing to the State Tournament. The Rebels lost to the Tigers earlier this year when they gave up a pair of scores in the final 13 seconds to lose 28 to 18. Friday the Rebels would play a tough team and when you play a tough team, each little mistake gets magnified and every missed opportunity becomes a mistake.

The Rebels struck first in the Section 3A title game. The Rebels received the opening kickoff and thanks to a pair of big runs by Teague Meyer, the Rebels would take the lead on a Carson Engelkes 40 yard field goal. The Tigers responded on their first drive of the game. The first big play came from Parker Kuehn, Springfield’s sophomore quarterback and Aiden Moriarty, the team’s sophomore wide receiver. On a third down and 10, Kuehn scrambled from Rebel pressure and threw a soft touch pass to Moriarty for 15 yards. The Rebels slowed the Tigers and forced a fourth down short inside Rebel territory. Gavin Vanderwerf picked up the first down on a short run. The Tigers took the lead on a 24 yard touchdown pass from Kuehn to Madden Lendt. The Lendt extra point put the Tigers in front 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.

The Rebels reclaimed the lead in the second quarter. MCC pounded the ball inside with Carson Lewis, then got some yards on the perimeter with Teague Meyer and Andrew Holm. The Rebels got a big play from Gavin Gillette on a 31 yard touchdown run to the left side of the field. Andrew Holm had a terrific block to help get Gillette to the outside, as MCC went ahead 10 to 7 on the Engelkes extra point. The Tigers wouldn’t go quietly into the good morning. With just a couple minutes to go in the first half, the Tigers drove into Rebel territory, mixing in the pass and the run. The Tigers got the lead on a five yard pass to Aiden Moriarty. The Tigers kept the lead into halftime 14 to 10.

In the first meeting between the two teams, the Rebels scored all of their points in the first half. Unfortunately, that would also be the case on Friday. The Rebels got into Springfield territory on a Carson Lewis run and a 15 yard face masking penalty, but the Rebels failed to score. The Tigers threw the ball to Brayden Sturm on short routes to help set up their offense. Gavin Vanderwerf scored on a four yard touchdown run to make the score 20 to 10, but the extra point was missed. The Tigers would win the game 20 to 10, advancing to the state tournament for the 3rd straight season.

The Tigers outgained the Rebels 291 yards to 207. The Rebels picked up 6 first downs on either 3rd down plays or on 4th down plays. The Tigers, on the other hand, picked up 9. Even more impressively, the Tigers only faced 12 third down plays, three of which came on the first drive of the game in which they picked up two first downs on 3rd down and another on the 4th down play. The Rebels’ Carson Lewis carried the ball 15 times for 78 yards. Teague Meyer ran 13 times for 58 yards. Gavin Gillette ran 4 times for 30 yards, including the Rebels only touchdown of the contest. Andrew Holm led the Rebels with one catch for ten yards. The Rebels finished season 8 and 3. With a large number of players possibly returning next season, this strong season will hopefully lead to another. Andrew Holm, Gavin Gillette, Hudson Schryvers, Carson Engelkes, Griffin Braun, and Isaiah Wolske played their final game as members of the MCC Rebels on Friday and they will be missed. The Rebel Seniors developed from a group that began their careers scoring just one touchdown in junior high, to a group that came within 30 minutes of making a state tournament. If the remaining Rebels put in the same time and effort to improve, the sky’s the limit for Rebel football in 2025.