Zion Chapel hosted meet the Rebels on Thursday, just a week before the team starts preseason play.
The team scrimmaged in front of a large crowd to show their appreciation for the community and to also show them what to expect starting next week, when they face Pleasant Home in a preseason game.
“It’s really the first scrimmage we have had. It was controlled but it still gave the guys some excitement and they hopped around a little better today. We heard some pads pop tonight, so it’s good,” said Rebels head coach Bradley Bowers. “It’s a good thing to have community support like this, even when you just do a 30 minute controlled scrimmage like this.”
The Rebels have been practicing nearly two weeks and Bowers was excited about using this controlled scrimmage as a measuring stick for his football team.
“I am proud of the guys for the effort they came out with today. We have had almost two full weeks of good practice. If we come out tomorrow and practice hard tomorrow, it will be a good two weeks,” he said.
There was much that coach Bowers and his coaching staff can glean from Thursday’s contest.
“I told the guys we are going to try and work out all the kinks,” Bowers said. “A lot of times when you keep practicing against each other, it gets to be same old same old. You look good and then you play someone else and you notice you have a lot of kinks to work out. We talked to the guys before coming out about going full speed so that if there are adjustments to be made, we can make them before next week’s game.”
In the community of Jack, football is a popular topic of conversation and Bowers wants the community to know that the football team appreciates their support.
“The community does so much for us. It doesn’t matter if we win nine games or lose nine games we are still going to get the same amount of fans in the stands,” Bowers said. “We take pride as a coaching staff and as a team to put a good product on the field for our fans. They do a good job showing us love and support. A little something like this is a good way for us to say thank you and we look forward to the season.”
Bowers hopes fans got a good taste of what Friday nights will bring.
“Like I always say everybody always comes out of everywhere on Friday nights to the football game because there is nothing else to do in Jack,” Bowers said. “It’s the social event of the week and a lot of people around here are looking forward to Friday night.”