Rebels send Senators home with lopsided loss
BY KATIE MCELVY
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
LAFAYETTE — The Chambers Academy Rebels hosted the Morgan Academy Senators on Friday, and the Rebels seemed to be clicking on all cylinders as they moved closer to closing out their regular season.
Chambers’ opening drive ended with an Eli Whorton touchdown after big runs from Peyton Yerta and Aiden Tilley.
Kent Nelson was a force on defense during Morgan’s first offensive series. The Senators managed gains of 33 and 11 yards, but every other play resulted in no gain or a loss of yardage thanks to Nelson, Whorton, Spencer Newman and Drew Sheppard anchoring the defense.
Jack Nelms added an 18-yard gain and first down to set up another Whorton touchdown on the next drive. Yerta punched in the two-point conversion to give Chambers an early 14-0 lead.
After the Rebel defense forced a three-and-out, Hunter Andrews found Tilley on the first play from scrimmage for a 47-yard touchdown. Kaisen Nix’s PAT was good to extend the lead to 21-0.
Morgan answered quickly with a kickoff return for a touchdown, but the two-point attempt failed.
Yerta responded with a 30-yard touchdown run to give Chambers a 27-6 lead heading into the second quarter.
Nelms followed with a 15-yard touchdown run to make it 33-6.
The Rebel defense continued to dominate, forcing another three-and-out with tackles for loss from Troy Elliott and Nelson. Bryce Modling fielded the ensuing punt and returned it for a touchdown, stretching the lead to 39-6.
Morgan had a strong return on the following kickoff and set up a long pass to the end zone, but Modling broke it up to force another punt. This time, the Senators muffed the snap, giving Chambers possession at the Morgan 20-yard line.
Cohen Hand then capped the drive with an 8-yard gain followed by a 12-yard touchdown run on a quarterback keeper — the Rebels’ final score of the half.
Trey Tigner intercepted a pass at the 2-yard line to end the half, saving a potential Morgan touchdown as time expired.
With a running clock in the second half, neither team scored again, sealing Chambers’ 46-6 victory.
“Our guys bounced back in a big way against a talented Morgan team with one of our best halves of the year and really put the game away at halftime,” said head coach Jason Allen. “It was a dominant performance by our team, and I’m proud of how they responded to a tough loss on the road last week. It was great to be back home and get some momentum as we head into the stretch run of the season.”
The Rebels’ offense accumulated 427 total yards. Andrews went 5-of-6 passing for 88 yards, with Tilley as his top target, hauling in 78 receiving yards.
On the ground, Yerta led the way with 89 yards on nine carries, followed by Nelms with 61 yards on five carries and Whorton with 48 yards on five runs.
Nelson led the defense with eight tackles, followed by Tucker Thrower with six.
“We played well on defense against a really good quarterback and receivers that could really run,” Allen said.
Chambers will play its final home game Friday in a Senior Night matchup against Bessemer Academy.
“We close out the region schedule Friday vs. Bessemer Academy at home,” Allen said. “We have a chance to be region champs for the 10th year in a row, dating back to the 2016 season. That would be a tremendous feat and would ensure we play at home in the playoffs. We will also celebrate our seniors and the remarkable impact they have left on our program.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Torbert-Allen Field.
