By Katie McElvy
After opening the season with two losses, the Chambers Academy Rebels have bounced back capturing a region title and establishing a seven game win streak along the way. They picked up that seventh win on Friday night at Torbert-Allen Field over the Hooper Colts, led by a consistent offense and big plays on defense.
The first defensive highlight came on the Colt’s first offensive series as they were marching down the field having picked up a 25 yard gain on a pass play. Ryan Smith deflected a pass and Drew Sheppard sacked the Hooper quarterback to force the turnover on downs. The Rebels wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as Jacob Norgard ran in a 57 yard touchdown. The Noah Hand PAT was good to put Chambers on the board 7-0.
The Rebels defense then forced a three and out, and Kole Baker threw a 26 yard pass to Evan Arwood to set up the 20 yard Luke Tarver touchdown carry. Noah Hand extended the lead 14-0.
Chambers once again had the ball to start the second quarter but found themselves deep in Colt territory on 4th down. They decided to go for it, and it paid off as Tarver picked up a big gain. Tyson Hewitt then rushed down field for 25 yards, later scoring the touchdown to put the Rebels up 21-0.
Just as Hooper was trying to get something going on offense, they fumbled, and Tarver recovered, giving the Rebels a short field. Buster Coker punched in the 27 yard touchdown, making the score 28-0.
The Colts then started inching closer to the red zone, but a pass deflection by Dylan Williams stopped their efforts to force another turnover on downs. Coker then took that opportunity to bust open a 73 yard touchdown on first down.
Down by 35, Hooper had one more chance to get on the board before halftime, but the Rebel defense continued to make big plays as Dalton Norris batted down a pass to end their drive, and Sheppard blocked their punt to end the half.
The last Rebel touchdown of the night came right after the start of the second half. Colton Fuller followed up an Eli Whorton first down with a 16 yard run of his own. Landon Hand then completed a first down pass to set up the Whorton touchdown.
Hooper finally found the endzone on a 74 yard touchdown. The Rebels got the ball one more time, but were forced to give Hooper the ball back for the final possession of the game. The Colts drove all the way down the field and had the Chambers defense on the ropes at first and goal from the one yard line. However, the Rebel defense would not relent, making three goal line stands before time expired to keep the final score 42-7.
“I’m really proud of our ability to improve every week over the course of the last seven wins. We have worked really hard to put ourselves in this position going into the postseason. To win seven consecutive region titles is no small feat, and there have been a lot of really good players who have contributed to such a great run,” remarked Head Coach Jason Allen.
Through the air, Kole Baker was 4 for 6 for 54 yards. Rushing, Coker led the team with 129 yards and 2 touchdowns on 3 carries followed by Norgard with 70 yards and a touchdown on 2 tries and Tarver with 61 yards and a touchdown on 6 rushes.
Defensively, Ryan Ford led with 7 tackles followed by Tarver, Smith, and Whorton with 4 tackles each.
The Rebels will finish out the regular season on Friday as they head to Phenix City to play 3A Glenwood. Then, they will be back home to host Escambia Academy in the first round of the playoffs.
“We play a really good Glenwood team at their place to finish out the regular season. They are one of the top teams in the AISA this year, and I’m really excited to see where our program is and how much we have improved since the beginning of the season. I know our kids will be excited to play.”