The Alexander City Outlook

O’Neal hopes close win pays off

It wasn’t a typical Reeltown victory on Friday at Washington County, but the No. 1 Rebels will take it.

Jackie O’Neal’s team, which averaged winning by 33 points during its 11-game win streak before the Round 3 match-up, stuffed the Bulldogs on a two-point conversion to hold on for a 22-20 win. The victory set up a date with Pickens County, who upset Leroy 19-12, this Friday for a trip to the Class 2A state championship.

“I think it was a great game between two really good ball clubs,” O’Neal said of last week’s game. “Washington County did some things that other teams were not able to do because they were more compatible with our personnel. No team has broken an 82-yard run on us, but they did. They reminded me a lot of our 2001 team.

“We didn’t play as disciplined as we needed,” O’Neal said. “But, it was a tremendous win. They showed us a lot of things that we have to improve on for the future.”

In a game where both teams kept answering the other, the Rebels held WCHS out of the end zone on a 2-point try late in the third to keep a 22-20 lead. The fourth quarter was scoreless, allowing the Rebels to make their second straight appearance in the semifinals.

“We’ve been telling the kids, there’s going to be a game sooner or later where we can’t dominate on defense,” O’Neal said. “Friday, we made the right stops at the right times. We took away what they wanted to do, but they made adjustments. They wanted to throw to the receivers, but we took that away so they hit the tight end. They were very well-coached.

“But, it boiled down to the 2-point conversion, and that’s what defense is all about,” O’Neals said. “We stopped them when we had to.”

WCHS ran for 221 yards in the game, more than any team has gained against Reeltown all year long. The Rebel trio of Willie McKenzie, Trey McKeithen and Ki-shawn Powell racked up 231 yards on 44 carries.

O’Neal said the team and coaches “are very excited” to be playing and that the staff will try to keep practices as close to normal as possible this week to avoid all the distractions.