The Zion Chapel Rebels fell to the undefeated Elba Tigers 42-6 in their final game of the season Friday night.

The hard-nosed physical play of the Rebels wasn’t enough to match the finesse and speed of their opponents and the Tigers ran away with the win.

“You’ve got to make plays,” said Zion Chapel head coach Mike Waters.

“That’s the difference between a 2-7 team and a 9-0 team. They made plays and we didn’t.”

The Rebels had several opportunities to make plays, especially early on.

It appeared Zion Chapel had a solid game plan to contain the red hot Tigers who were number 4 in the state in class 2A coming in to the game.

The Rebels received first and proceeded to pound the rock, keeping Elba’s offense out of the game early.

Zion Chapel’s offense ran 29 plays and almost 16 minutes off the clock before the Elba offense took its first snap.

But at that point the Tigers already had an advantage thanks to a 70-yard punt return by sophomore Michael Lindsey that scored six and would set the tone for the game.

The Tiger defense dared Zion Chapel’s third string quarterback Blake Powell to throw the ball, regularly stacking up the box with eight or nine defenders, and cheating their safety shallow all night.

The Rebel ground attack worked for every yard as EHS linebackers plugged holes and penetrated the backfield stopping several runs behind the line of scrimmage.

The Rebels stayed committed to the run, though, totaling 129 yards on 40 attempts.

Powell was able to deliver in the clutch when called on to pass.

On nine attempts he threw four big completions.

Two were third down conversions and one found freshman Jordan Jones for the Rebels only score as time expired.

“We didn’t quit. We haven’t quit all year,” said Waters.

And the Rebels aren’t prepared to quit now.

“We going to start work Monday,” said Waters.

We’ll be in the weight room Monday. We’re going to be OK.”