JACK – For the first time since 1985, the Zion Chapel High School Rebels are 2-0 to start the season, and they weren’t afraid to let everyone know it.

The Rebels closed out a 47-0 shutout victory over the Calhoun Tigers at home Friday night, relying on the strength of a vicious running game.

In fact, the Rebels entire performance was almost strictly a ground affair, with the Rebels throwing only six passes in the game.

Sophomore quarterback LaMarcus Adair, who also spent time on defense and served as the kicker, went in the air to junior Fisher Crowell and senior Dustin Riggsbee for a pair of touchdowns and only one incomplete pass.

Junior quarterback Mickey Cox had a bit of a tougher time finding his receivers however, throwing two interceptions in the first half and another in the third quarter on a fake PAT attempt.

“We made a lot of mistakes with our passing game,” Rebels head coach Mike Waters said. “We had too many interceptions and it could have really cost us.”

The Rebels put up a much more impressive showing on the ground, putting five touchdowns on the board with their rushing game.

It kicked off in the second quarter, with a short six yard run by Riggsbee, followed at the end of the half with another by junior Brennan Schindler on second and goal.

Junior Ethan Lott would tack on the next one late in the third on another second and goal, and Riggsbee getting his third score of the night on a two yard run to open the fourth quarter.

The final rushing touchdown of the game came from Cox, who made up for his earlier interceptions by intercepting one himself during a stint on defense.

“We played even up front and didn’t use but a couple of different plays,” Waters said. “We found something that worked and we stuck with it.”

While the Rebels were piling up the touchdowns on offense, the defensive performance left something to be desired.

While the Rebel defense effectively kept the Tigers out of the end zone, and the red zone for that matter, they still showed some errors when it came to effectively tackling, missing several opportunities for sacks.

“We’ve got to get back to work,” Waters said. “We’ve got to tackle better we must have missed 20 or 30 tackles and other teams will take advantage of that.”

There were bright spots on defense though, Cox recovered a fumble on the Rebels own nine-yard line and Riggsbee brought in two sacks for a combined 10 yards.

Still it’s difficult to argue with a team that can put up 47 points and still shut out an opponent, and it bodes well for the Rebel nation who hasn’t seen such a successful early season in years.

The Zion Chapel Rebels currently hold a 2-0 record as they move into region play, hitting the road next week to take on Samson.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.