Rebels roll into Week 6

Posted on October 2, 2025 by Taber Times

By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times

The W.R. Myers Rebels football team has been on the upswing after a slow start to their season. Despite losing their first two games of the season, things have been on an upward trend ever since as they looked for another win last week against the Winston Churchill Bulldogs. Friday night saw the Rebels on the road to Lethbridge, where they had a tough battle against the Bulldogs.

“Winston is always one of the physically toughest teams on our schedule, and with the wind adding a bit of unpredictability to things, I didn’t have a real confident feel for how this game was going to go,” said Jason Jensen, head coach of the Rebels. 

Looking for another fast start offensively, the Rebels and Bulldogs were locked into a defensive battle in the first half. Neither team could really separate as it was a low-scoring affair.

“The game started with both of us exchanging drives, before the Bulldogs’ return managed to take a punt to the house. Thankfully, our defence was able to block the PAT attempt and keep the score gap to six. A punt single right at the end of the first quarter got that point back for Winston, though. It turns out that would be all of the scoring for the half. The entire second quarter was a defensive battle, with both sides bending a little, but never breaking, and sending us into halftime down 7-0,” added Jensen.

Looking for some longer drives that resulted in scores, the coaching staff took the break to regroup. With the game still a coin flip, it was up to the Rebels to return to the field with a new mindset to take control.

“At halftime, we threw down a challenge for the boys. We knew we needed to clean up our blocking and tackling, and that isn’t something that can be fixed with scheme adjustments; that is one hundred percent on the players. I think my guys took that challenge to heart, because we came out of the locker room firing,” said Jensen. “The Bulldogs started with the ball, but after three plays, were forced to punt. The wind helped shorten that punt up, and gave the offence prime positioning in the Winston end. That Bulldogs’ defence wasn’t ready to give up, though, and managed a red-zone stand, keeping us from scoring and getting the ball on their own six-yard line. On the very next play, Rebels rookies Bennett Hughes and Lincoln Torsius were able to force a fumble, giving our offence the ball back on the Bulldogs’ five. This time our offence wouldn’t be denied, as quarterback Austin Pierson found receiver Gavin LePard in the back of the end zone, hooking up on a short pass to score. A missed PAT would still leave us trailing by a point, however.”

With points on the board, the Rebels were able to gain some momentum on both sides of the ball. They were still down by a single point, but things were starting to look up for a Rebels run.

“Our defence was immediately back at it, forcing the Bulldogs to go two and out, capped by another short punt, leaving our offence in position to do some more damage. They wouldn’t be denied, as rookie running back Harmon Pierson continued to rack up the yards and scores, this time with a 23-yard run to put us up 12-7. After this, we hit what I feel was the real turning point of the game,” explained Jensen. “An untimely defensive penalty was followed by a deep pass completion by the Bulldogs, which was saved from being a touchdown by Harmon, with a tackle on the two-yard line. This was gut-check time. The first Bulldogs rushing attempt was stopped on the line of scrimmage, and then on the second attempt, defensive lineman Mason Schwartz managed to strip the ball from the Winston running back, and recover it, killing their scoring chance, and giving us the ball back. Two plays later, Harmon Pierson cracked off his biggest run of the year, rumbling 102 yards downfield, only being caught by a determined Winston defender on the seven-yard line, right as the quarter expired.”

With great field position to start the fourth quarter, the Rebels smelled blood in the water. It didn’t take long for the Rebels to find the end zone and extend their lead.

“From there, Logan Van Uden was able to find the end zone on a seven-yard run, to put us up 19-7. Our defence continued to be ferocious here, forcing and recovering another fumble, setting up the offence just inside the Bulldogs zone,” continued Jensen. “Seven plays later, Pierson was at it again, cracking off a 20-yard run to hit paydirt, widening our lead to 26-7.”

The gap was widening, but the Rebels know all too well how quickly a game can change when you think things are going to be easy. The Bulldogs continued to push to narrow the gap, and they were able to make some big plays to find the end zone.

“All credit to the Bulldogs, though; they were in no mood to quit, and they came right back at us. After a few very impressive catches, their receiver somehow managed to snatch the ball in the end zone, while under tight double coverage, to narrow things to 26-13. My hat is off to that kid; that catch was spectacular. They certainly earned that score,” added Jensen.

The Myers’ offence was held in check in the first half, but they couldn’t be denied in the second half.

“Of course, our offence was ready to answer right back, driving 54 yards down the field, with Harmon once again plunging in to score, this time from three yards out, making it 32-13, with about a minute to go. That would prove to be the final score, as after locking down the Bulldogs’ receivers in coverage, safety Nixon Cooper picked off a third-down Hail Mary attempt to stop any chance of a comeback. From there, we were able to kneel things out and celebrate our win,” said Jensen. 

Once again, the Rebels were able to push forward for an impressive win despite plenty of pushback from their opponent. The opening weeks are well in the rear-view mirror, and now all eyes are on improving week to week as the playoffs start to come into focus.

“I am damn proud of these boys with that effort. With a bit of a rough start against a tough team, they managed to limit the damage, and when challenged to turn things around on their own, they responded spectacularly. As a head coach, these are the type of qualities I like to see in a team,” explained Jensen. “Now looking forward, we’re headed right back into the fire, this time travelling to Medicine Hat to play the Crescent Heights Vikings. They’re a tough, talented team that is very well coached, and they always give us one of the biggest challenges of our season. There are no easy victories on our schedule, so these boys are going to have to work hard this week, and then play their guts out on Friday night if they want to get the win.”

The Rebels are back in action this Friday night when they head to Medicine Hat to take on the  Crescent Heights Vikings. Kick off goes at 7:30 p.m.at the Methanex Bowl.