The Scott Central Rebels headed into last Friday night’s district showdown with familiar foe Philadelphia coming off their first loss of the 2018 season. But Friday night there was something bigger than an undefeated season at stake, and that was the Rebels first district championship under first year head coach Devine Cooper.
The Rebels rose to the occasion and did what all good teams do following a tough loss. They regrouped and came back the next week to get a big win by defeating the homestanding Tornadoes 30-18 in a fourth quarter come from behind victory.
“We got off to a really good start and jumped out to a 17-0 lead on them and that put them in a hole early in the game,” said Cooper. “We made a couple of mistakes that they took advantage of and scored late in the first half to change the momentum of the game.”
When the teams took the field for the second half Philadelphia kept the momentum swinging their way by scoring the only third quarter points to bring the score to 17-12 headed into the final and deciding quarter of the game.
“They came out and dominated the third quarter by hitting a couple of big plays and keeping us in check on offense,” said Cooper. “We let them come all the way back and take the lead early in the fourth before we final settled down and put some plays together to score and take back the lead before finally closing it out strong.”
The Rebels earned the 2A Region 4 District Championship and the No. 1 seed that comes with it. The Rebels will host Bruce this Friday night in first round playoff action and Cooper said his team must play their best if they want to move on.
“This time of year you have the best teams still playing and you have to focus and play your best football or you will be headed home,” he said.
The 2018 district champ Rebels will play host to Bruce this Friday night as they start their quest through the state 2A football playoffs with high expectations. The game is set to kickoff at 7:00 p.m.
