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Coosa Valley couldn’t overcome Southern Prep’s fast start in its 8-man opener, but the Rebels walked away with multiple positives including three turnovers for Jordin Rogers and a late Jake McArthur touchdown. (For the Reporter/Markee Canada)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HARPERSVILLE – The Coosa Valley Rebels started a new era in 8-man football on Friday, Aug. 30, but they will have to wait a little longer to get their first win in that era.

The Southern Prep Fighting Rangers defeated the Rebels 40-6 in a showdown between the ACSC and AISA at Coosa Valley Academy.

The defenses dominated the storyline in the early minutes as both teams traded turnovers to start the game.

Southern Prep recovered a fumble in the opening minute of the game, but Jordin Rogers took it right back with a fumble recovery of his own to give the offense another shot.

After the Rebels got a drive going, the Rangers struck again with an interception and took it back all the way for a touchdown and two-point conversion. That gave the visitors an 8-0 lead with seven minutes left in the opening period.

The first quarter turnovers continued after Southern Prep recovered a fumble and Rogers claimed an interception.

The Rebels couldn’t respond offensively, and the Rangers closed out the quarter with a rushing touchdown in the final minute to head into the second with a 16-0 lead.

Southern Prep continued to pour on the points in the second quarter, beginning with a passing touchdown and two-point try with nine minutes left in the half to go up 24-0.

Five minutes later, the Rangers ran it in for both a touchdown and another two-point conversion, increasing the lead to 32.

Southern Prep then made it three touchdowns for the quarter as it added a passing touchdown with under than a minute left until halftime. The Rangers then made it 5-for-5 on two-point conversions to take a 40-0 lead into the locker room.

Coosa Valley recovered in the second half and kept Southern Prep scoreless for the rest of the way. With the defense keeping the Rangers out of the end zone, that gave the Rebels a chance to also gain momentum on the offensive side.

They made good on that chance to score with five minutes to go in the game. Quarterback Landon Payton found Jake McArthur for a 28-yard touchdown catch, his first reception of the game and Coosa Valley’s first touchdown of the year.

That got the Rebels on the board and trimmed the final deficit. In the end, Southern Prep walked away with the 40-6 win to get its first win of the young season.

Payton went 3-for-10 for 37 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in his debut at the quarterback spot. He and Jordan Rodgers split the load on the ground with seven carries apiece as Rodgers rushed for 38 yards and Payton had 26 yards.

Rogers finished his first-ever football game with two interceptions and a fumble recovery to lead the way for the defense. Brooks Kliner had the most tackles with five, Payton had four, Rhett Johnson added three and Brett Hackett got two tackles in the opener.

Coosa Valley will hope to take the lessons it learned in this non-region battle into its AISA Class A opener. The Rebels will travel to the 0-2 North River Christian Chargers on Sept. 6 in search of a bounce-back win.

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