MCC REBELS EXTEND WINNING STREAK

The MCC Rebels were riding a three game winning streak entering Friday night’s game against the Tracy Milroy Balaton Panthers. The Rebels were also playing in their third straight homecoming game, after playing on their own and then LQPV’s last week. The Panthers have become the Rebels football rivals over the years, especially after Adrian moved to 9-man football this season. The Rebels beat the Panthers twice last season and their winning streak would continue on Friday night.

The Rebels started the game with the football and the team marched down the field, using a steady running game with Carson Lewis, Teague Meyer, Jordan Sturges, and Gabe Tentinger. Tentinger had the longest run of the drive of 14 yards, but it was Teague Meyer who scored on a one yard quarterback sneak. Jordan Struges scored the extra point to put the Rebels up 8-0 in the first quarter. The Panthers drove back on the Rebels with David Shuh having a 37 yard run, followed by a 12 yard run to put the Panthers in scoring position inside the Rebels 20 yard line. The MCC defense rose up and forced the Panthers to turn the ball over on fourth down. The first quarter ended with two full drives and the start of the Rebels’ second.

The Panthers’ defense was keying in on Carson Lewis and though the fullback was picking up yards, the Panthers were not allowing a big run. All that attention created an opening for Teague Meyer, who began the second quarter scoring with a 43 yard touchdown run. The Panthers may not have seen the Rebel QB running with the football until he was 15 yards down field. The Rebels missed the two point conversion, but led 14-0 with 10:49 remaining in the half. The Rebels forced the Panthers to punt the ball away and MCC had a one play drive. Meyer, once again faked the handoff to Lewis and then ran 77 yards for his third touchdown of the opening half putting him over the 100 yard rushing mark in the game. The Rebels’ Aubin Licht converted the extra point to make the score 21-0. The Panthers brought in Jackson Kruse to play quarterback for the Panthers and the freshman marched the Panthers down the field, throwing one nice pass after another. The drive would end in the end zone, as Kruse hit TJ Yackley with a 17 yard touchdown pass to put the Panthers on the scoreboard 28 to 6. The Rebels were not done. With the running game working well, the Rebels went to Gabe Tentinger for a couple of long runs to move the ball down the field. Carson Lewis would score on a 23 yard run and with the Licht extra point the Rebels led 28 to 6. With 3:02 left in the half MCC’s Brayden Gilb made an interception near midfield to give the Rebels the ball back with time to score, but MCC’s drive ended on a fumbled pitch with under 20 seconds to play in the first half. The score at the half was MCC 28 to 6.

The second half began with a bang. The Panthers got the ball first, but a mishandled kick return by the Panthers pushed them back near the 20 yard line.

The first play from scrimmage, Brayden Gilb intercepted his second pass of the night and returned it for a defensive touchdown. The extra point made the score 35 to 6 with 11:49 to play in the third quarter. That play would begin the snowball rolling down the hill. The next possession for the Panthers ended with a snap over the head of the punter and a blocked punt out of bounds inside the Panther ten yard line. MCC would take 3 plays for Teague Meyer to score his 4th touchdown of the game and the extra point made the score 42 to 6 with 8:54 to play in the quarter. The Rebels scored two more touchdowns in the third quarter. The Panthers moved the ball down the field led by Shuh, but MCC ended the drive on downs and Lewis broke a 55 yard run to put the Rebels in scoring position. Jordan Sturges ran the ball in from 4 yards out but the Rebels missed the extra point, making the score 48 to 6. The next Rebel drive started with a Lewis 57 yard run and ended with him scoring on a six yard run. The Rebels went ahead 55 to 6 on the extra point. The 4th quarter saw both teams score, Brayden Gilb scored on a 22 yard touchdown run on the second play of the 4th quarter, making the score 62 to 6. Jackson Kruse scored on a 4 yard run with 6:17 left to make the final score 62 to 12.

The Rebels dominated this game, turning the ball over one time and not punting during the game. The Panthers had 3 turnovers and a punt blocked in the second half. The Rebels would outgain the Panthers by rushing for over 500 yards while the Panthers would combine for over 200 total yards. Carson Lewis ran for 197 yards and 2 touchdowns. Teague Meyer ran for 136 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Rebels will finish the regular season with two home games this Thursday night against BOLD and the following Wednesday night against Canby. The Rebels are now 4-2 on the season and in a battle for a bye in the first round of the playoffs.