Rebels fall in Florida contest with Mcclay Marauders
BY KATIE MCELVY
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
LAFAYETTE — Chambers Academy traveled to Tallahassee, Florida, for its first-ever matchup with the Maclay Marauders on Friday. The Rebels showed flashes of success throughout the night but ultimately fell 38-28.
Chambers found momentum on its opening drive, but a fumble recovered and returned for a touchdown by Maclay put The Rebels down 7-0 early.
Back on offense, Chambers traded carries between Eli Whorton and Peyton Yerta, who consistently moved the chains. Whorton capped the drive with a touchdown run, though the two-point conversion was unsuccessful.
Maclay answered on its next possession, aided by several penalties against The Rebels defense. The extra point failed, giving the Marauders a 13-6 lead.
To start the second quarter, a Whorton sack forced Maclay to punt. Jack Nelms then broke free for a 25-yard gain before Yerta scored from 19 yards out. Whorton added the two-point conversion to give Chambers a 14-13 halftime lead.
In the second half, Chambers punter Tucker Thrower pinned Maclay inside its own 15-yard line to start the third quarter, but a 50-yard touchdown pass soon gave the Marauders the lead again, 19-14.
The Rebels responded when Nelms ripped off a 40-yard run, setting up another Yerta touchdown. His two-point conversion gave Chambers a 22-19 edge.
Maclay then strung together two more touchdowns to go up 32-22. Early in the fourth quarter, Yerta sprinted to the Maclay 15-yard line on the first play from scrimmage, and Nelms finished the drive with a touchdown run. The two-point try failed, leaving Chambers trailing 32-28 with six minutes to play.
The Rebels’ defense forced a three-and-out on the Marauders’ next possession, but Chambers was stopped short on a fourth-and-three attempt. Maclay sealed the win with a touchdown pass on its ensuing drive.
“This was a tough one for our kids,” said head coach Jason Allen. “I thought we competed extremely hard against a good team. We just made too many turnovers to win the game. You can’t turn the ball over and expect to win close games. We’ll learn from this one, and it will make us better. Maclay was a good spread team that threw it around like we hadn’t seen this season. The officiating was definitely different, and we didn’t get some breaks, but our kids fought until the end.”
Yerta led the Chambers offense with 205 rushing yards on 18 carries followed by Nelms with 88 yards on 11 carries, and Whorton with 81 yards on 16 carries.
Defensively, Colton Fuller led the Rebels with 13 tackles, followed by Kent Nelson with 12, Whorton with 10 and Bryce Modeling with eight.
Chambers returns home this Friday to face Morgan Academy
“Morgan is much improved and will bring a lot of speed to the table,” Allen said. “We need a good week of practice to get back on track.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Torbert-Allen Field.
