The Selma Times-Journal

Marengo Academy and Lowndes Academy faced off Friday in round one of the AISA Class AA state playoffs.

Both teams were expecting to come out victorious in hopes of winning a championship, but the Rebels (10-1) ended up coming out on top 45-14.

Taking the opening kickoff, the Rebels seemed to have their game faces on with a 45-yard return by Eric St. Cin. But Marengo’s Sha Hale recovered a fumble on the next play.

With 5:19 to go in the first quarter, junior Andy Flowers ran in for the touchdown, putting the Longhorns (7-4) up 7-0.

The bad luck continued for the Rebels on the next kick with another fumble that was recovered by Longhorn Tim Barkley.

The Rebels’ defense then started to put on the pressure and soon got things back into their favor.

With 11:57 to go in the second quarter, senior Trent Pate ran into the end zone for a 2-yard Rebel touchdown to tie the score at 7.

The Longhorns had the ball at their own 12-yard line when a lost fumble put Lowndes into scoring position.

St. Cin scored a 7-yard touchdown with 11:01 to go in the quarter to lead the Longhorns for the first time.

Marengo fumbled once again, and it was recovered by Lowndes freshman Tyler Bozeman.

On fourth-and-2, the Rebels tried their luck with a pass to Pate that was good enough for 25 yards and a first down.

Senior T.J. Mills ran in from 28 yards for another score, which brought the lead to 21-7.

Lowndes was able to pull off one more touchdown with 46 seconds to go before halftime. St. Cin ran in from 13 yards to make the lead a comfortable 28-7.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the Rebels found themselves once again at the end zone with chances of another score. But that was soon taken away when the ball was fumbled and recovered by the Longhorns.

In the fourth quarter, the Rebels continued to dominate.

Pate ran in for a 10-yard touchdown with 11:01 to go in the quarter. The score was then 38-7.

Marengo wanted to have one more chance for a score, and that wish was granted when a pass to junior Kyle Stephens made the score 38-14.

The Rebels were able to score once more in the game when Rob Smith ran in 14 yards for a touchdown.

“This was certainly a big win tonight,” Rebels coach Art Sullivan said. “If we didn’t win, we would be through with football. The team just showed a lot of character.”

The Rebels will now go on to round two of the playoffs and face Lakeside.

A win next week will put Lowndes in the championship game in Troy Nov. 17.