McLean County returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and Todd County Central never recovered on a night where very little went right for the Rebels, as they fell 22-0 in Elkton. The loss is the second in three games for the Rebels after starting the season 4-0, and drops them to 5-2 on the season. McLean picks up their second win of the season after previously beating Muhlenberg County 34-33 in week 4.
Senior running back Tyler Beals, who would torment the Rebels all night, got the Cougars off to a flying start when he took the opening kickoff 80 yards for a score, although the Cougars were stuffed on the 2 point conversion attempt. Senior Isaiah Fingers returned the ensuing kickoff out to the Rebel 45, and Todd County went to work to try to answer the early score. At 3rd and 5 from the 50, a first down run coupled with a Cougar personal foul moved the ball to the McLean 28. On 4th and 1, junior quarterback Asa Young ran it to the 17 for another first down, but after sophomore JaTwan Graham ran it to the 12, the Rebels would face another 4th down. On 4th and 4 from the 12 the Cougars would stuff the Rebels at the line of scrimmage, forcing a costly turnover on downs.
McLean took over and quickly moved it out to the 27 on a run and a Todd County face mask penalty. The Cougars picked up 3 first downs on the ground and got down to the Rebel 33 with 1:36 left in the first quarter. McLean would be called for holding on first down, but a taunting penalty on Todd County gave them a 1st down on the Rebel 28. Beals would do the rest, scoring on a 28 yard scamper down the sideline with 51 seconds remaining in the quarter. Junior quarterback A.J. Cline would connect for the 2 point conversion, giving the Cougars a 14-0 lead.
The first quarter ended with another big kickoff return from Fingers, setting up the Rebels at the McLean 38 yard line. After a run for a first down by Graham, Todd faced a 3rd and 6 from the 21, but an illegal shift penalty pushed it back to the 26. After a loss on 3rd down, the Rebels were left to try to convert on a 4th and 16 from the 30, but again turned the ball over on downs.
The Cougars took over on their own 31 and would pick up a first down out to the 43. Beals popped up again with another big run to the Todd 45, but the Cougars stalled and faced a 4th and 5 from the 39. On one of the very few passing attempts for either team on the night, Cline would throw an interception, and Fingers returned it to the McLean 44 with 3:25 left in the first half. The Rebels seemed to have found the spark they were looking for, and they began the drive in search of points before the half. On 4th and 9 from the 34, the Cougars gave the Rebels a lifeline with a taunting penalty, making it 1st and 10 from the 25. On 3rd and 1 from the 16, the Rebels got a first down run to the 4, but lost yardage back to the 8 on 1st down. With 37 seconds left in the half and no timeouts, the Rebels would twice be stopped on runs up the middle, and time ran out with Todd County just a few yards from points that could have changed the game.
McLean County would twice put the 2nd half kickoff out of bounds, before Fingers returned the third kick to the Cougar 45. The Rebels picked up a 1st down to the 35, but went backwards from there, ending up with a 4th and 10 from the 45. Todd County punted, and almost turned the momentum when McLean fumbled inside the 5, but the Rebels couldn’t fall on it and the Cougars took over on their own 4.
McLean County’s size advantage at the line of scrimmage was taking a toll, and they methodically chewed up time and ground, eventually finding themselves in a 3rd and 17 from the Rebel 32. After a 10 yard gain, the Cougars would go for it on 4th and 7 from the 22, but the Rebel defense held firm and forced the turnover on downs at the 17 yard line with 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
The Rebels seemed destined to punt, before a gutsy double reverse call on 3rd and 6 from the 21 resulted in a 1st down run by senior Nick Tutor. From 1st and 10 from the Rebel 45, senior MaQureim Mimms broke a 31 yard run to the Cougar 24 as the 3rd quarter expired. Young would fumble on a sack, but was able to recover, and a personal foul on the Cougars gave the Rebels a 1st and 10 from the 14. Once again Todd County stalled in the red zone, and were forced to go for it on 4th and 10 from the 14, and once again they were unsuccessful and turned the ball over on downs with 9:35 left in the game.
The Cougars went back to eating up yards on the ground, with Beals doing much of the damage. McLean County ran the clock down to 2:50, where they faced a 4th and 5 from the Rebel 15. The Cougars turned to Beals again, and he delivered with a run down to the 4 yard line. A Todd County personal foul took it half the distance to the goal line, before Beals finished the drive with a plunge into the end zone. Another successful 2 point conversion gave the Cougars a 22-0 lead with 2:11 left in the game.
Tutor returned the kickoff to the Todd County 18, and Young was sacked on 1st down. An incomplete pass brought up 3rd and 13 and again the Rebels went backwards, leaving them in a 4th and 10 from the 18. As time expired, Young would absorb another sack, sealing the shutout loss.
The Rebels will look for answers in the coming week, before a visit from the 5-3 Owensboro Catholic Aces. While the Rebels are reeling, the Aces are riding a three-game win streak, over which they are averaging 48 points per game.