By Katie McElvy
The Chambers Rebels took care of business in Birmingham on Friday night as they beat 3A Bessemer Academy 42-6.
Chambers wasted no time getting on the board. Kyle Hand returned the opening kick off all the way to the 45 yard line, and six plays was all it took for the Luke Tarver touchdown. Noah Hand’s PAT was successful, and Chambers was up 7-0. The Rebel defense then forced the three and out, quickly getting the ball back into the hands of Braxton Yerta who returned the punt into Bessemer territory. The Chambers running backs easily marched the ball down the field with the help of an incredible job by the offensive line. Yerta found the endzone to put Chambers up 13-0.
Bessemer picked up a first down and got into Chambers territory for the first time of the night on their next series, but a high snap sent the ball over the quarterback’s head and negated their field position forcing them to punt two plays later. Chambers then charged 84 yards down the field. The drive started with an 8 yard Kole Baker pass to Evan Arwood. Buster Coker picked up big yardage into Bessemer territory, and Yerta scored the touchdown a few plays later. Baker found Tarver in the endzone for the two point conversion, and Chambers extended their lead 21-0.
The Rebel defense forced another punt, but Chambers fumbled on their first play of the drive to give Bessemer the ball at the CA 15. A touchdown pass would put Bessemer on the board, but their new found momentum was broken when Ryan Smith blocked their point after attempt. Chambers returned to their offensive ground attack, and Yerta broke free for a 36 yard touchdown. The PAT was good, and Chambers was up 28-6 at the half.
Chambers added another touchdown on their first offensive series of the second half. The drive was highlighted by an 18 yard run by Tarver, who punched the ball in for the Rebels as well. The Noah Hand PAT was once again good to put Chambers up 35-6. The fourth quarter started with a Jacob Norgard touchdown, and the Rebel defense held Bessemer for the rest of the game to make the final score 42-6.
“I’m really impressed with where we are going into the bye week. Our offense has been dynamic in the run game, and our guys have really bought into what we do. We are a smash mouth offense that tries to take advantage of what you give us schematically, and we are using multiple tempos to make it harder to defend. I’m really proud of our offensive line and how they are playing,” said Head Coach Jason Allen.
The Rebels managed 415 yards of total offense on the night. They were led by Tarver with 181 yards on 18 carries, followed by Yerta with 146 yards on 11 rushes and Coker with 61 yards on 5 runs.
On defense, Coker led with 5 tackles followed by Smith and Tarver with 4 each. Freshman Drew Sheppard recorded three sacks and one batted ball as well.
“Defensively, we’ve been good against the run and are getting better each week. Special teams have been a bright spot as well,” commented Allen.
Chambers will be off this week for a much needed break. Then, they will start off the second half of their season with three straight region games. Football for the Rebels will resume on Thursday, October 6 as they travel to Abbeville.