Rebels continue season with big win over rival Willow Creek

Posted on September 30, 2024 by Taber Times

By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times

In a highly captivating rivalry game, the W.R. Myers Rebels lined up against the Willow Creek Cobras for Week 4. Being on the road, the Rebels knew they were going to be in for a tough test. But coming off a huge win in Week 3 on the road, the Rebels were eager to get back at it.

“Well, for the second week in a row, we found ourselves in hostile territory, this time it was the field in Claresholm, nicknamed The Snake Pit. The Cobras are traditionally our biggest rivals, and it seems every game we have is an outright war. This week definitely kept up with that trend,” stated Jason Jensen, head coach of the Rebels. “We opened the game by exchanging solid drives before our offence really got cooking. We drove 55 yards on 10 plays, and finished it with a touchdown run by senior running back John Van Uden on the last play of the first quarter.”

The home team was undeterred by that late-quarter score as they came out firing in the second. Looking for a touchdown to tie things up, it was the Rebels defence who came up big.

“Willow Creek answered back with a big kickoff return, followed by a short drive before our defence was able to dig in and hold them to a field goal. The game was really going back and forth here, as our offence then proceeded to go 76 yards on nine plays, capping it with a touchdown catch by senior receiver Carson Hughes to go up 14-3,” continued Jensen.

The home team would fire back late in the half to once again make it a one-score game.

“After another exchange of short drives, the Cobras were finally able to get into our endzone, narrowing things to 14-10 with 1:14 to go in the half,” said Jensen.

Before the teams went to the locker room, the Rebels saw themselves backed into a corner after giving away the ball. Late in the half, the coaching staff was baffled by how things turned sour.

“At this point, we got into one of the most disastrous sequences of play I’ve ever had coaching high school football. The Cobras picked us off on our own 35-yard line, and three plays later they were in the endzone to make it 14-16 with 44 seconds left. On the ensuing kickoff, we fumbled on our 20-yard line, and again the Cobras capitalized on another major, sending us into halftime down 23-14,” explained Jensen.

Needing to come to the waters, the entire Rebels squad was happy to get a break before the second half. The reset was much needed and the Rebels were eager to right through the ship in the second half.

“Having a swing like that in the final moments of a half usually spells a permanent momentum shift. And I can see my guys were shellshocked in that sequence. Thankfully at halftime, we were able to get them settled down, and regrouped, and our captains showed some real leadership with what they had to say. These guys laid down the challenge to themselves to come out and right the ship in the second half,” added Jensen. “We came out firing in the second half, forcing and recovering a fumble on Willow Creek’s second play. Then the offence got to work again, going 40 yards downfield before senior Eliad Cooper caught a pass in the endzone to narrow things to 23-21.”

With the offence up and running, the coaches were hoping the defence was also ready to provide a big hold. The Cobras were no doubt looking to widen the gap again and the defence was going to need to stand tall.

“Of course, the Cobras weren’t about to fold up either, and a huge kick return, followed by a big catch and run by the same player widened the gap again to 29-21. thankfully, this would be the last scoring Willow Creek would do on the night. Our defence had regrouped and dug in, and while the Cobras were able to gain some yards, they weren’t able to get into scoring position again,” continued Jensen. “Late in the third quarter, Cooper made his presence known again, breaking off an 85-yard punt return, and two plays later, John Van Uden was in the endzone again. We decided to go for two points here, to try and tie it up, and it was John’s younger brother Logan who was able to provide that, catching a short pass to tie things up 29-29.”

With the game tied, the Rebels were feeling pretty good considering how things ended in the first half. Work was still needed to get the team over the hump and onto a victory though. Both sides of the ball were handled expertly by the Rebels and they looked to take a lead.

“From there on, our defence did a great job of keeping things hemmed in, while the offence chewed the clock with a 12 plays drive that ate up most of the 4th. Finally, late in the quarter, John did it again, with his 3rd touchdown of the night, putting us up 36-29 with 41 seconds to go,” added Jensen. “Now, as we saw in the first half, that is a ton of time for things to go haywire, and I just wanted to ice this. So we decided to try a short kick, and sure enough, kicker Even Abela caught them unaware and was able to recover his kick. From there, we ran a few plays, then defended a last-gasp hail mary attempt to close things out.”

Two big wins on the road back-to-back have the Rebels feeling pretty good about their season. Heading back home for Week 5, the Rebels now prepare for a big match against the Crescent Heights Vikings.

“This is the second week in a row that these guys have managed to pull out a win late like this, and boy is it hard on a coach’s heart! But I couldn’t be more proud of how these guys have responded to adversity and found ways to win. That’s a type of character definition that great teams need to have. Now we just need to work on not getting ourselves into the position to have to claw back late. We’ll get to work on that this week, as we get ready to host the Crescent Heights Vikings this Friday night. We scrimmaged with them this spring, so we know they’re a tough team, and we’re going to have our work cut out for us again. It should be another good game for our hometown crowd to enjoy,” said Jensen.

 The Rebels take on the Crescent Heights Vikings on Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. at Ken McDonald Park.