Rebels roll towards another win over Crescent Heights

Times Photo by Meg Noguchi. ANOTHER WIN: W.R. Myers Rebels took on the Crescent Heights Vikings on Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. at Ken McDonald Park.

By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times

The W.R. Myers Rebels have been rolling as the calendar moves into October and with a huge matchup last week against the Crescent Heights Vikings, the team was hoping to add another win. Playing at home in front of their fans, the Rebels saw another big matchup that resulted in a game that had plenty of twists and turns.

“Well, that was certainly a wild game. We scrimmaged with Crescent Heights in the spring, so we were well aware that they were a tough team. But I don’t think anyone really expected the type of game that went down at Ken Mac on Friday night. We always talk about the second half being a whole new game, but I’m not sure I’ve ever been a part of a game where that duality was truly that apparent,” explained Jason Jensen, head coach of the Rebels.

A strong start got the home fans on their feet early. A nice lead to begin the game was a nice bonus for the Rebels as they looked to make it a first half that resulted in a sizeable gap on the scoreboard.

“The first half was all ours, with our defence shutting down their first possession, and leaving us in fantastic field position after a punt return. On the next play running back John Van Uden got into the endzone with a seven-yard run to put us up 7-0. An interception by Brady Jensen on the next possession got us the ball back at midfield and the offence went to work again, and this time quarterback Dane DenHollander hit receiver Elias Cooper with a 36-yard bomb to put us up 14-0. On the ensuing kickoff, we were able to pin them on the one-yard line, and two plays later defensive end Jayce Toews downed their runningback in the endzone, forcing a safety for two points, making the score 16-0 at the end of the first quarter,” said Jensen.

It was more of the same in the second half as the Rebels continued to score points any way they could. Both offence and defence continued to be too much for the Vikings as the Rebels were dominating on all sides of the ball in the first half.

“The offence immediately got rolling again, stringing together a seven-play drive, before DenHollander took to the air again, this time hitting receiver Carson Becker with a 25-yard touchdown pass, widening the gap to 23-0. From there, the defence forced another two and out, and Van Uden made his presence felt again, this time with a 30-yard run for a touchdown, making it 30-0,” added Jensen. “Now at this point, you might think the game was out of reach, but the Vikings regrouped, and went on their first extended drive of the game, aided by some terribly timed penalties on our part that put them deep in our end. From there, a couple of running plays did us in, and they scored to make it 30-7. The offence tried to answer back, but a 35-yard field goal attempt was blocked as time expired, and that score held as we went into the locker room.”

Despite a big lead, the coaching staff knew the Vikings would return with adjustments in the second half. A big lead can be a blessing or a curse and the Rebels knew they’d need to bring a similar effort in the third and fourth quarters if they wanted to come away the winners.

“I don’t really know what happened at this point. Whether our guys took their foot off the gas, the Vikings got really fired up, or maybe a combination of the two, but the second half truly was a different football game,” explained Jensen. “They came out of the locker room and strung together another long drive, in which we suffered some key injuries, and finished it off with a long touchdown run. But on the ensuing kickoff, Becker was at it again, taking the ball 80 yards to answer back with a touchdown of our own to make it 37-14. Unfortunately for us, that would be the end of our scoring, but the Vikings weren’t done.”

From there, the Vikings returned with their best football of the game. In a role reversal, it was now time for the visitors to dominate on both sides of the pigskin as they looked to close the gap.

“They immediately came back with a sustained drive and capped it with a long touchdown pass to make it 37-20. We got the ball back, but were intercepted on the first play, and Crescent Heights had possession again to end the quarter. Another long drive, and a break through run, and suddenly the score was at 37-26,” stated Jensen.

Needing some big plays on defence, the coaching staff was looking for ways to stop the comeback from going all the way. Thanks to some stout defensive plays, the Rebels were able to stop the comeback in its tracks.

“From there on out, we exchanged drives, but our defence dug in when it counted, forcing a turnover by fumble, and on downs. An attempt at a last gasp hail mary attempt was literally squashed, as huge defensive linemen Nik Binnie, and Mason Schwartz met at the quarterback and brought him down before he could get the pass away,” said Jensen. “That was such a bizarre game, or really, 2 games. We won the first, they won the second, but thankfully we won our half by more than they won theirs! I’m amazed at how these guys can find ways to just knuckle down when it matters, but holy cow, we need to figure out how to stay out of these situations. Too many penalties and too many turnovers hurt us badly.”

The Rebels also saw a few injuries in the game and they’re hopefully there’s nothing serious as they look towards Friday night’s game against the Brooks Buffalos.

“To go along with that, multiple injuries meant that half of our starting defence was out by the fourth quarter, so that didn’t help either. So this week, our focus will be working on disciplined play, and trying to get a few guys healthy. We’ll need all hands on deck, as we host the Brooks Buffalos on Friday night here at home. They’re a big, physical team, and they could give us real problems if we’re not dialled in. We’ll see if these boys can find a way to get it done yet again,” continued Jensen.

The Rebels return to their home field on Friday night for a 7 p.m. kick-off against the Brooks Buffalos.