The Scott Central Rebels started the new season, and Coach Devin Cooper’s tenure at SCHS, with a blowout win over the Enterprise Bulldogs last Friday night. The Rebels used a swarming defense and a smash-mouth ground game to run over Enterprise and send the Bulldogs back to Clarke County with a 43-14 dismantling.
As the heavens opened up and the rain poured down on the SCHS campus, the Rebels lined-up and ran the ball right at, and right over, the Bulldogs’ defense all night long. On this rainy Friday night, the Rebels were able to accomplish what the visiting Bulldogs couldn’t, and that was simply holding onto the football.
Enterprise ball carriers fumbled the ball five times, and each of the five times they put the ball on the ground the Rebels’ ball-hawk defense came away with it and handed it off to the offense who knew exactly what to do.
Due to all the Enterprise fumbles the stats for this game could be misleading as the Bulldogs outgained the Rebels in total offense 283 yards to 254 yards, and rushed for 81 more yards than the home team. But in the stat lines for points scored and defensive takeaways, the two key stats on Friday night, the Rebels dominated and went on to dominate the Bulldogs. If the Bulldogs could have held onto the football the score might have been much closer, but this is not a win by “what if” and the end result was a Rebels rout.
Scott Central’s offense attempted only two passes the entire game and they completed both for big gains. Trevon Wash, the Rebels sophomore QB, was 1-for-1 for 30 yards and 1 TD through the air, while rushing for 39 yards on 5 carries accounting for 2 TDs and a 2-point conversion on the ground.
The Rebels’ rushing attack had 8 different players with multiple carries, and senior Navonteque Strong led all rushers with 81 yards on 3 carries. Sophomore J Vivians had a very productive night carrying the rock with 52 yards and 1 TD on 4 carries.
The Rebel defense came to play and had a nose for the football against the over matched Bulldogs. Enterprise did not attempt a pass and while they gained 283 yards on 37 carries and consistently moved the ball, the Rebel defense flew to the ball and caused five fumbles recovering every single one. Strong also led the way for the stingy defensive unit where he plays defensive end. He led all defensive players with a game high 15 tackles with nine of those takedowns being solo tackles and four coming behind the line of scrimmage for loss of yardage. Sophomore LaJavis Patrick had a nose for the football and appeared to be around the football every time it was knocked loose and hit the ground, he finished the night with 9 tackles, 4 for a loss, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 caused fumble and 1 sack.
Scott Central started the Cooper Era off on the right note with an offense that knows where the endzone is and how to get the football across the goal-line often. The opportunistic defense flies all over the field and meets up at the football where they do a great job of knocking the ball loose and taking it away to hand back to the potent offense.
The Rebels will look to start a 2018 winning streak and move to 2-0 on the season when they host the cross-county Morton Panthers this Friday night.
