By Brandon Lee

A strip, fumble and return for a 92-yard touchdown from Zion Chapel’s LaMarcus Adair gave the Rebels their first score of the game with just over six minutes remaining in the second quarter, but the score turned out to be the only points on the board for the Rebels as the Elba Tigers went on to defeat Zion Chapel 52-6 Friday night in Jack.

It didn’t take long for Elba’s Darrean Burks to make his presence known as he raced into the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown rush within the first five minutes of the game.

After Elba’s Reid Rials found Cobe Goosby for a 32-yard pass and score with three minutes left in the first quarter, Adair had other plans as he stripped Burks of the ball and quickly found the end zone for Zion Chapel’s only score on the night.

The Rebels put together a five minute drive late in the first quarter, but the drive ended on a 4th and 8 incomplete pass from Ethan Deal.

Zion Chapel trailed by just seven with six minutes left in the first half, but the Tigers made way for two quick scores, both touchdown passes from Rials, to head into the locker room leading 26-6.

“They put two quick ones on the board before the half,” Zion Chapel head coach Mike Waters said. “When you don’t tackle and you don’t try to tackle, you can’t win football games by not tackling.”

Zion Chapel had chances to fight back and take a shot at the Tigers, but stalled drives resulted in no points.

In just the third drive of the game, Rials completed a pass to Burks, but a fumble led to a turnover and the Rebels took over at their own 10-yard line. After an incomplete pass and two rushes for minimal gains, the Rebels were forced to send Mickey Cox out to punt which led to Elba’s ensuing 49-yard touchdown drive for their second score of the game.

The Rebels deferred to the second half and received the ball to start the third quarter, but a turnover on downs resulted in no points for the Rebels. Adair rushed for a total of 44 yards on the drive, but after Deal was sacked on fourth down, the Tigers took over at their own 32 to cruise on to a victory over the Rebels.

Now 0-2, the Rebels will look to shift their focus to next week as they travel to Letohatchee to take on Calhoun.

“We’re going to try and get healthy,” Waters said. “We’ve got four or five injuries on the sidelines. We’ve got sprains, knees, necks and everything else.”

Down by only seven points early in the game, Waters said poor tackling is what resulted in unsuccessful defense for the Rebels.

“We’re going to try and go back to work Monday and work on tackling four days a week,” Waters said. “My deal on tackling, you can work on it a lot but you’ve got to want to tackle.”

Rials finished the night 9-11 with 194 yards and three touchdowns, while Burks rushed for 149 yards and three scores on 10 carries.

Deal completed five passes for 75 yards, while Adair rushed for 72 yards on 10 attempts, and also recorded the Rebels only touchdown on the night, a 92-yard fumble recovery.