The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Coach Will Bavery
The Southern Rebels handed the Abingdon Commandoes a 38-0 shutout defeat last Saturday in the opening round of the Illinois State playoffs. The Rebels combined strong defense with a relentless offense to totally dominate the game.
The Rebel defense allowed Abingdon only one drive across the 50 yard line. A key factor in our defensive effort was the fact that our underclass scout team had run every Abingdon play against us in our week of game preparation. We appreciate Coaches Dillard and Morrison and the Men of the scout team. In fact we feel the scout team was so important, that they will all receive shut out awards for their helmets.
The Rebels opened the scoring with a 1 yard touchdown at the 7:02 mark in the first by Dan Morrison. Chris Wisslead added the important 2 point conversion with a tremendous stretching effort. The Rebels upped the score to 16 to 0 when Chris Wisslead hit Matt Kane with a 31 yard scoring strike. Wisslead then hit Garrett Lenz with the conversion pass.
In the second quarter Chris Wisslead hit Quinn Leath on an 18 yard scoring strike and backed the play up with a conversion pass to Dan Morrison. The Rebels were held scoreless in the third quarter, but struck quickly in the opening of the fourth. At the 11:08 mark Chris Wisslead hit Dan Morrison with a touchdown pass from 30 yards out. Dan Morrison ran the conversion to push the score to 32-0. Three minutes later Wisslead teamed up with Brandon Rothzen for the final touchdown. Matt McIntire's conversion run fell short and the score stood at 38-0.
The Rebel spread offense was really clicking and I'd really like to pat Coach Floyd on the back for developing this concept into such a potent offensive scheme. The communication and rapport that Coach Floyd has with Chris and our receivers has brought the spread past even my highest expectations. Keep up the good work guys.
On defense our hitting was heavy. Nick Morris, Cody Smith and Chris Wisslead led the defense from the line backing positions, but everyone contributed to a fine defensive effort. This week we will need the same type of defensive play to make Annawan turn over the ball to our offense. The key to this ball game will be how well we can stop Mr. Foes and get the ball back to our offense.
The game at Annawan will be at 1:00 p.m. Saturday. This game will mark the first time since 1980 that the Rebels have moved into the final 16. I encourage the fans to make the jaunt to Annawan to see our 8-2 Rebels take on the 9-1 Annawan Braves. This will be a game between two fine football teams.
Exuberant Fans express the Rebel movement of success Saturday
A lot of action as Rebel Dan Morrison-31moves the ball.
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Total
Abingdon 0 0 0 0 0
Southern 16 8 0 14 38
First Downs A-6 S-19
Rushing A-131 S-175
Passing att comp yards Int TD
Southern 26 18 193 0 4
Abingdon 3 1 -10 0 0
Total Offense A-121 S-368
Fumbles lost A-2 S-3
Punts S 1 for 25 A 6 for 119
Penalties S-56 A-25
Ind. Rushing McIntire 6 for 5, Wisslead 6 for 30, Morrison 8 for 49, Morris 8 for 28, Rothzen 3 for 13, Lenz 4 for 46, Gittings 1 for 2, Kane 1 for 2
Ind. Receiving: Morrison 8 for 82, McIntire 3 for 19, Kane 1 for 31, Leath 2 for 27, Lenz 1 for 13, Pogue 1 for 3, Rothzen 2 for 18
Ind. Passing att comp yards TD Intc
Wisslead 24 18 193 4 0
Kane 2 0 0 0 0
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 OT Final
Southern 113 91 83 77 6 370
Opponent 26 35 21 19 7 108
First Downs Southern-158 Opponent-124
Rushing Yards Southern-1883 Opponent-1787
Passing Att Com for yards TD Int
Southern 182 118 1667 23 5
Opponent 98 31 411 4 11
Total Offense Southern-3550 Opponent-2198
Penalties Southern-551 Opponent-366
Fumbles Lost Southern-9 Opponent-9
Punts
Southern ......16 for 478
Opponent .....32 for 905
Ind. Rushing N. Morris 80 for 379, Wisslead 67 for 517, Morrison 51 for 275, McIntire 58 for 305, Rothzen 27 for 125, Lenz 22 for 184, Kane 3 for 23, Heap 4 for 34, Clark 6 for 41, Corzatt 6 for 22, J. Morris 1 for 2, Gittings 6 for 30, Chockley 5 for 56
Ind. Receiving McIntire 33 for 565, Morrison 39 for 482, Leath 18 for 204, Pogue 4 for 45, Rothzen 11 for 139, Heap 1 for 5, Kane 7 for 217, Corzatt 1 for 1, Caldwell 1 for 1, Smith 1 for 4, Lenz 1 for 13
Individual Passing att comp yards TD Int
Wisslead 175 114 1596 22 5
Corzatt 2 2 13 0 0
Kane 5 2 68 1 0
| Ind Scoring | TD | 2 Point | 1 Point | FG | S | Total |
| McIntire | 12 | 2 | 76 | |||
| Wisslead | 9 | 3 | 60 | |||
| Morris | 5 | 5 | 5 | 45 | ||
| Pogue | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Morrison | 9 | 9 | 72 | |||
| Leath | 4 | 24 | ||||
| Rothzen | 5 | 1 | 32 | |||
| Kane | 4 | 24 | ||||
| Gittings | 1 | 6 | ||||
| Lenz | 2 | 1 | 14 | |||
| Heap | 1 | 6 | ||||
| Chockley | 1 | 6 | ||||
| Corzatt | 1 | 2 |