Rebels look to rebound at home
Published 12:00 am Thursday, October 8, 2009
After falling on the road to Reeltown last week 35-0, the Zion Chapel Rebels will be looking to rebound tonight against a familiar opponent.
The Rebels will play host to the region foe, the R.C. Hatch Bobcats in a game that could have playoff implications for both teams.
A win for ZCHS, 1-5 overall, 1-3 in 2A Region 3 play, could keep the Rebels alive however a loss would be detrimental to head coach Mike Waters and his team’s main goal.
The Bobcats come into the game with a 2-4 overall record, and 2-2 in the region.
The two teams are separated by just one game in the standing.
“[R.C.] Hatch has some athletes on their team,” Waters said.
“After watching some tapes, I can tell ya, they have some athletes as good as Goshen has.
“It’s going to be a challenge for us for sure,” he added.
Last season, the Rebels were able to get the best of the Bobcats, winning at R.C. Hatch 37-6.
Waters said for his team to be successful tonight, the team has to be able to do several things right, especially on
“Hatch could have beaten Goshen [last week] – they played well enough too.
“They have defenders that can get up field and they block up front pretty well upfront,” Waters said.
“Our defenders are going to have to be ready for their offense. They have several different formations,” Waters said.
“They are mostly out of the shotgun position but they run two backs formations, they run the option and they throw the ball well – they are basically the same team we saw last season.”
Waters described some of the new improvements to the offense to help try and create a spark for the team.
“We got a couple of new formations we have been working on this week,” Water said.
“We are going to go with a heavy set – lineup eight men on the line and go big-on-big with [R.C. Hatch].”
Waters continued by saying the new offenses should help out new quarterback Dillon Davis, who started his first game against Reeltown last week, replacing the injured Lance Walden.
“Dillon is a work in progress,” the coach said about the team’s new quarterback.
“When you can’t block the defense, it doesn’t matter who is at quarterback though.
“We forgot about that one as soon as the horn sounded,” Waters said.
“[Reeltown] is a very talented team. I thought we played hard, and a lot of kids played well.
“But we had six starters not dress for the game and their defense stuffed us upfront all game long – it was a difficult game for us,” the coach added.
Despite the loss, Waters said his team has responded well during the week and are looking forward to getting back on the field.
“We have had a good week of practice,” Water said.
“At this point [in the season], we control our own destiny.”
Zion Chapel will look to help themselves to a win at home against the Bobcats, with a scheduled kick off at 7 p.m.