Longhorns fall to Rebels in regular season finale
Linden — The Marengo Academy Longhorns ended the 2018 regular season on the wrong end of a 35-0 score, falling to the South Choctaw Academy Rebels. The Rebels team speed and quickness put the Longhorns on their heels early, leading to a 21-point first quarter lead. The ‘Horns were unable to put together a scoring drive on the night and were held scoreless in their last regular season game.
The Rebels received the opening kickoff and wasted little time getting into the end zone. The first play from scrimmage was a 73-yard touchdown run. The successful PAT gave the Rebels a 7-0 lead with 11:45 to play in the first quarter.
The Longhorns first possession lost yards and resulted in a punt. The Rebels again only needed one play to find the end zone. A 46-yard touchdown pass and successful PAT increased the Longhorn deficit to 14-0 with 9:13 to go on the opening quarter.
The ensuing Longhorn possession ended with a failed fourth down conversion attempt. The result was another Rebel touchdown pass and successful PAT. With 2:31 to go in the first quarter, the Longhorns found themselves down 21-0.
The teams would swap possessions until the Rebels found the end zone again on a touchdown pass with 6:15 to go in the second quarter. The PAT increased the Rebel lead to 28-0 and the first half would end with that score.
On the first play of the Longhorns opening possession of the second half, a Rebel defender picked off a pass. The Longhorns would eventually give up a 30-yard touchdown run with 10:14 to go in the third quarter. The successful PAT raised the Rebel lead to 35-0.
Neither team was able to reach the end zone for the remainder of the game and the Rebels headed to Toxey with the 35-0 win.
After the game, head coach David Akins talked about the Achilles heel for the Longhorns all year: the big play. “One of the things we’ve been dealing with all year is the big play. We gave up big plays again tonight and that’s a recipe to get beat.” Akins praised the Rebels team speed and overall talent. “They’ve got a good football team. They’ve got fast receivers. They’ve got fast running backs. When a team has team speed like they have, it’s difficult to play against.”
Akins continued that “the biggest thing we get to do is play again next week. I told them that a lot of teams aren’t getting to play next week, but we are. We’ve got to go in Monday, regroup and try to get ready to play.”
The Longhorns (4-7) will meet Wilcox Academy next week in the first round of the playoffs. The Wildcats visited the Longhorns on Sept. 21 and departed Linden with a 42-0 victory. After winning a state title in 2016, the Longhorns have qualified for the playoffs the last two years, but, so far, have no victories to show for their efforts.
