Photo - Kassity Boor
On one of the hottest football Friday nights in recent memory, the only thing approaching the weather in terms of heat in Beaver Dam was the Todd County Central Rebels’ defense. The Rebels pitched a 19-0 shutout over Ohio County on the way to their first win of the season.
The game, which had already been delayed until 8pm due to the hot temperatures, was delayed another fifteen minutes at the start due to the heat, with an additional ten minute break time allotted between the first and second quarters.
Things got off to a rough start for the Eagles as the Rebels controlled the game defensively from the start. After picking up a first down on their first possession, the Eagles turned it over when Noah Phelps pass was picked off by Antonio Fitzgerald, giving the Rebel offense a short field.
The Rebels would make Ohio County pay not long after when Miles Reding pushed the ball in from one yard out with 5:02 to go in the first giving Todd County Central a 7-0 lead.
Another Ohio County miscue on their second possession would set up the next Todd County Central score. The Rebels recovered an Ohio County fumble on the Eagles’ side of the field with 34 seconds left in the opening quarter.
After a 10-minute break between quarters, the Rebels again drove the short field. The drive was capped off when Miles Reding found Elijah Bryant for a 24-yard score with 9:06 to go in the half to put Todd Central up 13-0.
On the next possession, the Rebel defense again came up with a big stop and another Ohio County mistake set the table for a score. This time, deep in their own end of the field, on 4th and long, the Eagles tried a fake punt but the attempted pass came up incomplete and the Rebels were set to roll.
A few minutes later, Miles Reding found B.J. Farlow for a two-yard touchdown and Todd County Central’s lead moved out to 19-0 with 4:40 to go in the half.
The Rebel defense in the first half was lock down solid, allowing Ohio County just 41 yards of total offense and three first downs. Todd Central had just 100 yards in the first half, but that was due to the Rebels having a short field on three possessions.
One of the big plays early in the second half for the Rebels came off the foot of Grady Reding. After being stopped back inside the 30 in their own end of the field on their opening possession of the half, Reding launched the ball into orbit, completely changing field possession by pinning the Eagles back at their own nine-yard line with a 67-yard punt.
Despite being backed up, Ohio County promptly started their best drive on the night. But the Rebel defense was again up to the task. With the Eagles on the Todd Central side of the field, Antonio Fitzgerald came up with his second pick of the night to thwart the drive at the Todd Central 27-yard line.
This time the Rebel offense was not able to take advantage of the miscue, and neither team was able to get much going for the rest of the quarter as the game entered the final 12 minutes still at 19-0.
The defenses for both teams kept things quiet for the final quarter as neither team seriously threatened to get on the board. Ohio County did return a punt for what they thought was a score, but a flag had been thrown early in the return to negate the effort.
For the night, the story was the Rebel defense, which limited Ohio County to just 106 yards of total offense, all of it on the ground.
Ohio County did complete two passes, to the wrong guys. Overall, the Eagles were 0-5-2 for 0 yards through the air. Antonio Fitzgerald picked off both passes for the Rebels. In addition to the play of Fitzgerald in the secondary, the Rebels also got some big plays from Kamari Harris and Travis Eadens.
While the Rebel defense was lighting it up, the Todd Central offense did have its struggles in the sauna-like weather. The Rebels had 156 yards of total offense, 60 through the air and 96 on the ground.
Miles Reding was 6 of 17 for 60 yards and two touchdowns. B.J. Farlow caught four of the passes for 32 yards. On the ground, Quinton Grace finished with 48 yards on four carries.
The Rebels improved to 1-1 on the season with the win. They return to action next Friday night in their home opener as they host Webster County.
