Coosa Valley jumped out to an early 28-0 first quarter lead and would cruise the rest of the way en route to a 54-8 victory at Abbeville Christian on Friday night.

The Rebels got on the board on their second possession of the night as Ricky Ellison took a handoff and scored on a 12-yard touchdown run. Cody Garrett’s extra-point kick gave the Rebels an early 7-0 lead.

Coosa Valley was right back in business by recovering a pooch kick to take over in Abbeville territory. On the first play, Ellison scored his second touchdown of the night, this one from 30 yards out. Garrett’s extra-point kick helped the Rebels expand their lead to 14-0.

The Rebels’ defense would set up the offense with good field position by stopping Abbeville on a short fourth-down play. Tanner Woods took advantage of the good field position and scored on the next play on a 31-yard touchdown reception from Phillip Neal. Garrett’s extra point gave the Rebels at 21-0 lead.

Coosa Valley’s defense continued its strong play, as it forced an Abbeville fumble. Phillip Neal hit Hunter Winslett on a short pass and Winslett outran the defenders for the Rebels’ fourth touchdown of the quarter. Garrett’s extra point gave the Rebels a 28-0 lead.

The defense came up big during the second quarter, stopping two Abbeville drives with two of their six takeaways on the night. John Bullen intercepted an Abbeville pass and Tanner Wood recovered a fumble late in the half to help the Rebels keep the shutout going.

Coosa Valley head coach Vince DiLorenzo was happy with the way his Rebels responded in the first half.

“I was proud of the way our players came out at such a high level,” DiLorenzo said. “We were able to come out in the second half with that same intensity and put the game away.”

The intensity that DiLorenzo talked about got the Rebels going early in the second half. Coosa Valley only needed one minute to march down the field with Will Bullen scoring on a 7-yard run. Garrett’s extra point extended the Rebels’ lead to 35-0.

After a punt on their next possession, the Rebels’ defense would get in on the scoring. John Bullen picked off his second pass of the night and returned it 56 yards for a Rebel touchdown. Garrett once again added the extra point to push the Rebels’ lead to 42-0.

Abbeville would add a touchdown and two-point conversion to make the score 42-8.

Coosa Valley answered back quickly with a 60-yard touchdown pass from John Bullen to Hunter Winslett. The Rebels would close out the scoring on the last play of the game as John Bullen hooked up with Justin Pinkerton from 60 yards out to make the final score 54-8.

Coosa Valley was led on the ground by Ricky Ellison with 103 yards and two touchdowns. Phillip Neal added 150 yards passing and two touchdowns. Hunter Winslett finished with 95 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

The Rebels’ defense was led by Zaid Kayyali with 12 tackles. Daniel Kennedy and Garrett McMillan recorded 10 tackles each.

Coosa Valley improves to 7-3 on the season with the win. The Rebels will travel to Bessemer Academy to face Restoration Academy next Thursday for the first round of the Alabama Independent Schools Association Class 1A playoffs.

“I’m really looking forward to our game against Restoration,” DiLorenzo said. “It should be a great game with our defense matching up with their offense. It should be one of the best first-round matchups in the playoffs.”