Rebels rushing attack leads the way in their Homecoming win

PROSPERITY, S.C. — The Rebels finally snap their two-game losing streak with a dominate win on Homecoming. Mid-Carolina(3-5, 1-1 region 3-AA) defeated Columbia(3-3, 0-1 region 3-AA) 32-8 at home on Friday, Oct. 10th.

The campus of Mid-Carolina High School was packed with alumni who were tailgating and in the stands as they enjoyed the 2025 Homecoming festivities. The Rebels’ football team was eager to get things going so they could put the last two games behind and get a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Both teams got off to a slow start, but Capitals were able to strike first in the opening quarter with a long touchdown drive. They were successful on the two-point conversion attempt and led 8-0 about midway through the first quarter.

The Rebels’ trailed 8-0 going into the second quarter after their offense struggled in the first quarter. Their defense was able to get a stop, and then the Capitals had a bad snap on the fourth down punt attempt which gave Mid-Carolina great field position inside of the red zone. Of course the Rebels took advantage of the field position and Ryker Woolstenhulme punched it home for a three-yard touchdown run. He also scored on the two-point conversion attempt to tie the game, 8-8.

The penalties began to pile up for Columbia and they just kept getting in their own way. They committed five penalties in the second quarter and that were drive killers for their offense. The Rebels executed their two minute offense to perfection late in the half, but weren’t able to get a score due to some missed opportunities in the red zone.

Woolstenhulme made a 28-yard field goal that gave Mid-Carolina a 11-8 lead at the half. The Rebels received the ball first after halftime homecoming festivities, and they came out sluggish like they did at the start of the game. Davis Ruff took a third down sack that forced Mid-Carolina to punt.

The Capitals offensive struggles continued and the penalties kept piling up some more in the third quarter. The Rebels finally were able to seize control of the game late in the third quarter with another touchdown drive on a short field. Wyatt Mazza punched it home from two yards out after he took the direct snap. Mid-Carolina held a 18-8 lead late in the third period.

The home team got the ball back late in third quarter and Woolstenhulme broke the spirits of the visiting Capitals as he closed out the quarter with a 40-yard run.

The Rebels had great field position to start the fourth quarter, but got in their own way after turning the ball over with a fumble. Their defense quickly responded and forced a fumble on the very next play to give the offense the ball back. The disaster was avoided and Mid-Carolina drew up the perfect touchdown play. Ruff faked the hand off on the RPO and found Gavin Mitchell wide open across the middle of the field for a 15-yard touchdown pass to give them a 25-8 lead.

Then, the Rebels’ defense gave up a big play to the Capitals but quickly made up for it with an interception that ultimately put the Columbia to bed. Mid-Carolina was able to drive the ball down the field and Monteith Brown punched it home with a one-yard touchdown to cap off Homecoming with a win.

“We cut out some mistakes after that first quarter. They came out and they are really athletic which gave us some fits early on. We took the run away up the middle and they began to bounce the ball outside. We made some adjustments at halftime that allowed us to stop them. Offensively, we tried to throw and catch it a bit to loosen up some things after the first quarter and then the run game was able to take over,” said Rebels’ head coach Chris Arnoult.

The combination of Mazza, Woolstenhulme and Brown in the backfield for the Rebels all scored rushing touchdowns and they combined for over 200 rushing yards.

“It’s a three-headed monster we have and they all look after each other. The last touchdown that Monteith scored was actually because Wyatt. The play was for him, but he came to the sideline and asked us to put Monteith back there so he could get one, so we did. Wyatt coached him and directed a little traffic[smirking], and Monteith got in there pretty easy,” said Arnoult.

Mid-Carolina will have a bye week on next Friday and close out the regular season with two important region games. The first will be against Chester on Oct. 24th and the season finale will be on the road against Eau Claire on Oct. 31st.

“This is very special group and we had a lot of adversity hit us at the beginning of the season with injuries but we are starting to get most of those guys back now. Though we have taking some losses in some close games, our seniors are keeping the group together. Hopefully, we can put a little something together as we close the season and make a push for the playoffs,” said Arnoult.