photo by Dale Liesch

Extra yardage: Reeltown’s Tywone Stewart tries to shed a Notasulga tackler in the Rebels’ 47-0 victory Thursday night at Nix-Webster Stadium. The Rebels posted their sixth shutout of the season in the win. Reeltown hosts Vincent in the postseason next week.

Reeltown tunes up against Blue Devils before playoffs

By Dale Liesch (Contact) | Alex City Outlook

Published Thursday, October 29, 2009

The Notasulga Blue Devils got a first down on a 46-yard bomb on their third play from scrimmage. They failed to pick up another first down the rest of the game as Reeltown High School beat them 47-0 at Nix-Webster Stadium.

The Rebels’ attack lit up the Devils for a total of 356 yards on offense, while the Reeltown defense allowed only seven yards of offense.

“I thought we could run a powerful offense,” Reeltown coach Jackie O’Neal said after the game. “We caught them off guard by throwing it at first and were able to move the ball all night. We put an emphasis on running the ball and we have some pretty good running backs.”

Trey McKeithen led all Rebel runners with seven carries for 71 yards and a touchdown. Willie McKenzie added 28 yards on five touches with two touchdowns in the first half. In all, 12 different players ran the ball on the night.

The only question mark for the Rebels after the final game of the regular season was kicking, as Reeltown only converted one extra point try all night.

“We stunk as far as kicking is concerned,” O’Neal said. “We didn’t do a good job kicking extra points especially. If you’re going to have a bad night kicking you want it to be in games like this and not in the playoffs.”

The Rebels opened their first series of the game with a pass from quarterback Milton Chambliss to McKeithen for 37 yards. Reeltown then ran the ball three straight times before Ki-shawn Powell hit paydirt on a 17-yard carry with 7:40 left in the first quarter.

A blocked punt gave the Rebels the ball at the Blue Devils’ 2-yard line. McKenzie scored on the very next play. McKeithen converted a two-point play on the ground to give the Rebels a 14-0 lead.

McKenzie scored on the Rebels’ next drive with a four-yard run to increase the lead to 20-0 with 48 seconds left in the first quarter.

Notasulga quarterback Steven Ricks was intercepted by Nelson Robinson on the ensuing possession, but a fumble stalled the Rebels’ drive.

After Notasulga turned the ball over on downs, Chambliss hooked up with Dara Riley for a 17-yard touchdown. McKeithen converted the two-point play and the Rebels led 28-0 with 7:34 left in the half.

After another Blue Devil drive failed, McKeithen would score for Reeltown from three yards out. The extra point failed and Reeltown led 34-0 with 3:19 left before the half.

Reeltown scored again before the half to stretch its lead to 40-0.

Reeltown recovered the Blue Devils’ onside kick to start the second half, but were halted on fourth down. McKenzie intercepted a Kareen Sullen pass, but the Rebels were stopped again on fourth down on the next drive.

After a Notasulga punt, Devonta Eddings scored for Reeltown from 29 yards out to put the game’s final score on the board with 7:18 left in the fourth.

Reeltown (9-1, 7-0 in region play) takes on Vincent at home next week for the first round of the 2A state playoffs. The Rebels will start their quest for the school’s third state title.

---

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THIS STORY?

---