
PROSPERITY — The Mid-Carolina Rebels have focused on themselves this week to fix aspects of their play that need improvement in anticipation of tonight’s home game against the Pelion Panthers, Head Coach Louie Alexander said.
Alexander said this week the team worked some schemes that could hurt Pelion.
“The biggest thing is running the ball,” Alexander said. “We need to establish some running game.”
Alexander said Batesburg-Leesville, last week’s opponent, was a lot more throw than run.
Pelion is a spread football team with a 4-3 defense, Alexander said. For now, Alexander said the Rebels just need to get fundamentally better.
“We won’t be making any changes whatsoever,” Alexander said about the team’s strategy.
Both the Rebels and the Panthers have an 0-3 record so far this season. The Panthers have lost games to Cardinal Newman, Gilbert and Johnson.
Alexander said he believes the Rebels will have a competitive edge over the Panthers and that they would show up ready to play and play well.
“They’re going to play hard like they have the first three weeks and we’re going to let the outcome take care of itself,” Alexander said of the team.
The Rebels’ Dante Meade has a fractured hand, Alexander said and as of Thursday was waiting to find out if it required surgery.
Alexander said Meade had said he would put a cast on the hand and continue to play.
“It will be a couple weeks before he can do that,” Alexander said, adding they would need to find someone to sub for him. “Filling his shoes will be kind of tough.”
Overall, Alexander said he could that the Rebels have made strides from week one to week two and from week two to week three.
“Now we’ve got to go from week three to four and make some bigger strides,” he said. “We’ve got to get something good to happen to us early.”
The Rebels have beat the Panthers the last couple of years but the Panthers were well coached and got after the ball.
Alexander said playing at home always helps and he said he hoped they had a good crowd to watch the game.
Alexander said he was pleased with the defensive staff and players for getting after the ball and was pleased offensively, but they would have to do something about their running game.
“After looking at all three films, we’re getting better and just played three really good football teams,” Alexander said of the season.