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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

SELMA – The Coosa Valley Rebels ended AISA play on a high note with their second win of the season as they held on for a 48-44 win over the Meadowview Christian Trojans on the road on Oct. 25.

Meadowview struck first with a touchdown four minutes into the game to go up 6-0 and an interception on Coosa Valley’s opening drive.

However, the Rebels defense avenged the offense’s interception with a pick of its own, and that gave a spark to the offense in return.

Landon Payton found Jake McArthur for the 24-yard touchdown to tie the game up at 6-6 with two minutes to go in the first.

That kicked off a frenetic final two minutes where Meadowview scored both a rushing touchdown and 2-point conversion only for Payton and McArthur to link up again for a 67-yard bomb and a 2-point run for McArthur, and the Trojans got another rushing touchdown as well before the 2-point try failed.

That left Meadowview up 20-14 at the end of the opening period, but Coosa Valley responded just a few minutes later.

McArthur capped off the drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game, and after Payton tacked on a 2-point conversion run, the Rebels took a 22-20 lead with eight minutes to go in the half.

Coosa Valley’s defense came up with another stop to keep the momentum going, this time off a punt, and its offense capitalized to extend the lead.

Payton hit McArthur for a 23-yard touchdown pass, extending the lead by six points to 28-20 with five minutes left in the second.

Three minutes later, Meadowview hit paydirt off a run and got the ensuing 2-point pass to tie the game back up at 28-28.

The Rebels would have the last word of the half thanks to Payton’s 5-yard rushing touchdown with just under a minute left until the break.

Then, after ending the half with a score, Payton opened the second half with a rushing touchdown. The 12-yard score and 2-point conversion increased the lead to 42-28 with 10 minutes to go in the third.

Jordin Rogers came up with an interception a minute later to keep Coosa Valley rolling.

Rogers also played a role on the other end of the field during the ensuing drive, finding himself on the end of a 31-yard touchdown pass from McArthur after a five-minute drive. That made the lead 48-28 with four minutes remaining in the third.

However, Meadowview refused to go down quietly and chipped away at the Rebels’ 20-point lead.

The Trojans scored both a touchdown and 2-point conversion on the ground with two minutes remaining in the third, which made Coosa Valley’s lead at the end of the third just 48-36.

Meadowview didn’t strike again until less than four minutes remained in the game, adding on eight more points off another rushing touchdown and 2-point conversion to make the score 48-44.

The Trojans didn’t have time to close the gap any more from there as the Rebels ran out the clock on the four-point win and celebrated their second victory of the season.

Payton was 10-for-17 passing for 203 yards, three touchdowns and an interception as well as 161 yards rushing and three touchdowns off 25 carries. In all, he had six total touchdowns and 364 all-purpose yards.

McArthur finished with passing, rushing and receiving touchdowns as he caught five passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns, rushed six times for 81 yards and a touchdown and completed a 31-yard touchdown pass on his lone attempt.

Rogers caught six passes for 103 yards and a touchdown and had two carries for 11 yards as well as an interception and a tackle on defense.

Kai Santiago led the defense with nine tackles and three sacks. Rhett Johnson earned eight tackles, Payton had six tackles and McArthur, Brooks Lightner, Andrew Weaver and Brooks Klinner each earned a tackle in the defensive effort.

Coosa Valley will now look to finish out the year with a second-straight win and third overall as it takes on a local foe in the Trinity Christian Homeschool Eagles on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. at Coosa Valley Academy. The Eagles are winless on the season at 0-7.