Mid-Carolina losses hard fought first round battle against Saluda

SALUDA, S.C. — Mid-Carolina had to hit the road for the first round of the playoffs to face one of the best teams in the state. Unfortunately, the Rebels(5-6,) fell 24-0 to Saluda(9-1, 4-1 region 2-AA).

The Rebels ran into a red hot Tigers’ team that suffered one loss this season and entered the playoffs winning four of their last five games.

Mid-Carolina defense played as well as you could ask given that they were asked to hold a team in check who averages 30.8 points per game. They did just that for majority of the first quarter, but the Tigers were finally able to breakthrough late in the quarter to get in the end zone.

The offense struggled for majority of the first half and threw an interception at the beginning of the second quarter to end a promising offensive drive.

The Rebels’ defense played well in the second quarter, but gave up another touchdown with less than five minutes to go in the half. Mid-Carolina’s offense finally got another good drive going, but it too ended in a disastrous. The visiting Rebels fumbled as they were nearing the red zone for the first time on the night.

AD Basnight bailed his team out by coming up with a huge interception with under a minute to go in the half to put an end to the Tigers’ drive that started with good field position.

Saluda took a 14-0 lead into halftime.

Both teams’ offenses stalled again in the third quarter, but the Tigers were able to knocked down a 27-yard field goal.

Mid-Carolina finally got another good drive going in the early parts of the fourth quarter, and once again it was ended with another fumble. The Rebels defense stood tall and didn’t give up any points after the turnover.

Then, Saluda took a cheap deep shot to the end zone that went for six with two minutes left in the game. Mid-Carolina still showed fight, but committed another turnover. They threw an interception late in the fourth quarter and that ended the season for the Rebels.

“Everybody played well tonight and fought hard. Defensively, it was our best game. Saluda is the number two ranked team in AA and a perennial championship team and we basically held them to 17 points besides the cheap late touchdown. We moved the ball well tonight, but kept having costly mistakes,” said Rebels head coach Chris Arnoult.

He also left a heart felt message for his seniors as they left the locker room for the last time and is very optimistic about the Rebels in 2025.

“I thanked the seniors for all they have done for this program, especially this year by getting us going in the right direction. We played a lot of sophomores this year and they are coming back. Blair Cromer is freshman that started every game for us this season on the offensive line and he is going to be a really good player. So it’s a lot to look forward to next season here at Mid-Carolina,” said Arnoult.

Mid-Carolina finished with their best record in over a decade and won three consecutive games after a 0-2 start. Congratulations to the Rebels on a hard fought playoffs battle and a good overall season.