One year ago the MCC Rebels beat the Eagles of Lac Qui Parle Valley 35 to 34 to open the season. The Rebels went on to win three more games, finishing the season 4-5 while the Eagles finished 3-6. Both teams return a large majority of their teams from a year ago, setting up an interesting rematch to open up the 2024 season. MCC travelled to LQPV High School on Thursday night and the Rebels took it to the Eagles.
The first quarter was all about MCC as the Rebels would show off their new offense. The Rebels took the first possession of the game and drove down the field on the legs of two players, Carson Lewis, the sophomore fullback and junior quarterback Teague Meyer. The Rebels pounded the ball inside with Lewis and then Meyer was able to get to the edge for a couple of big runs. The drive would end with a Carson Engelkes 32 yard field goal. Engelkes then lined up to kick the ball to the Eagles. He kicked a perfectly executed onside kick for 11 yards. He then fell on the ball himself, giving the Rebels the ball at the Eagle 49 yard line. The Rebels again pounded the ball inside with Lewis. Then they hit an onside run to the outside to Hudson Schryvers for 15 yards. Lewis scored on a seven yard touchdown. With the extra point, the Rebels led 10-0 with 4.1 seconds to play in the opening quarter.
The Eagles ran one offensive play the entire first quarter but they put a strong drive together to open the second quarter. The Eagles threw two passes to Tygan Allpress and the senior wide receiver picked up gains of 15 and 31 yards. The Eagles moved the ball inside the Rebel 20 yard line. The Rebel defense stepped up and held the Eagles to a 4th down play that was not converted. The Rebels got the ball back, but their drive would end with their first turnover of the season, when the exchange was fumbled and recovered by Noah Meyer of LQPV. MCC rebounded quickly. Carson Engelkes intercepted a pass by Davis Patzer to regain the Rebels momentum. MCC marched down the field On a play action pass, Teague Meyer threw the ball to a wide open Hudson Schryvers for a 27 yard touchdown. The Rebels got the extra point from Engelkes and took a 17-0 lead into halftime.
The second half would see the Eagles start with the ball but unable to score. The Rebels scored the only points of the third quarter with just over a second to play. Gavin Gillette took a pitch and sprinted down the Rebels sideline for a 17 yard touchdown run. The extra point made the score 24 to 0. The Eagles struggled with turnovers in this game and they struggled to block the Rebels starting defensive line. MCC’s pressure caused the Eagles offense to rush throws while limiting the run game. In the 4th quarter, the Eagles started to run the ball, as MCC was clearly dropped back to play the pass. Landon Weber was able to find some space, rushing for 60 yards in the final quarter. Davis Patzer scored his first touchdown with 11:32 to play in the game, but the two point conversion failed. The Rebels failed to score on their first drive in the fourth and would punt for the only time in the game. The Eagles got the ball back, but Patzer’s pass was intercepted by Gabe Tentinger and the safety returned it 45 yards for a touchdown. The extra point put the Rebels ahead 31 to 6. The Eagles would get to the Rebels one yard with under four minutes to play, but they fumbled at the goal line and it was recovered by Andrew Holm. Patzer scored with 23 seconds to play on a 13 yard run, but the game was all but over, as MCC would win 31 to 13.
Mistakes will get you beat in any football game but especially in the first game of the season. The Rebels had one turnover in the game and just one penalty for five yards. The Eagles had 4 turnovers and two penalties for 15 yards. The Rebels scored 21 points off those turnovers. The Rebels’ Carson Lewis ran 25 times for 126 yards and a touchdown. Teague Meyer ran 15 times for 73 yards and he completed 1 pass for 27 yards and a touchdown. The Rebels dominated the time of possession on their way to their first win of the year. The Rebels will host Springfield Friday night at 7:00 pm.
