PROSPERITY — The Mid-Carolina Rebels fell to the Chapman High School Panthers Friday night 58-20, moving the Rebels to 0-8 in the season.
The Rebels received the ball at the beginning of the contest only to punt.
On the return, the Rebels regained possession of the ball, but would ultimately come up short on fourth down and have to punt it back again.
With six minutes left in the first quarter, the Panthers were first to put points on the board, taking a 7-0 lead. The Rebels would take over, but pressure on quarterback Cade Ruff forced the Rebels to turn the ball over on downs with just under two minutes left in the first.
Still in the first, the Panthers would continue to add points to the board, finding the end zone with less than a minute left. A missed PAT left the score 13-7, Chapman.
Early in the second, the Rebels would nab their first set of points after Ruff’s pass to Jalen Bates-Caldwell was completed for a 64-yard touchdown, leaving the Rebels trailing 13-7.
Trying to widen the gap, the Panther’s opted to go for a field goal with less than eight minutes before halftime. The attempt was complete, with Chapman holding 16-7.
Upon regaining possession, Mid-Carolina was unable to gain any yardage and was forced to punt after Ruff was sacked on fourth down.
The Panthers would continue to extend their lead, with the scoreboard reading 30-7 with under two minutes left in the half.
Another Panther touchdown just before the whistle would leave the Rebels trailing 37-7 as both teams headed for the locker rooms.
In the third, Bates-Caldwell would find the end zone for the Rebels once again for a 35-yard touchdown with around six minutes left. A missed extra point left the Rebels lagging 37-13.
The Panthers would find the end zone for another touchdown at the close of the third, bringing the score 44-13.
Unable to find their way into the end zone during the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Rebels were forced to punt away, with 6:41 left in the contest leaving room for the Panthers to further extend their lead with another set of points, making the score 51-13, Chapman.
The Rebels would score their final points of the game, courtesy of C.C. Boyd with 2:56 remaining. The PAT was good, bringing the score 51-20.
In the final 60 seconds of game-play, the Panthers were able to find the end zone one last time, bringing the final score 58-20.
“We didn’t play very well, but a lot of that had to do with them, they’re obviously a very good football team,” said said Mid-Carolina Head Coach Louie Alexander. “We knew coming in they were (the) defending 3A State Champions and you have to play really good.
“Our whole game plan was to come out and be in the double-wing and try to eat some clock and try to keep them off the field, ” he said. “They are very well coached.”
Alexander added that despite not taking the win, the team played hard.
“Miles Dewalt played tremendous during the second half, just getting after it. I thought C.C. Boyd came in for Cade and did a tremendous job and we’ve got a lot of young guys out there that are trying to get the job done,” said Alexander.
The Rebels will be at home again next week as they prepare to take on the 2-6 Woodruff High School Wolverines.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.