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The Lowndes Academy Rebels traveled to Cramton Bowl on Nov. 16 to compete in their third consecutive state championship football match, facing the Wilcox Academy Wildcats for the trophy.

With no points scored in the first quarter and the score resting at 7-7 at half time, the Rebels had a tough conversation at half time which geared them up to come back and win the game 20-7.

Head coach Shane Moye said the Wildcats put up a good fight, but the Rebels pulled through and brought home the win for Lowndes Academy.

“[Wilcox] was ready for us for sure,” Moye said. “It was a war early. They were highly competitive and coached really well. Our boys, in the first half we just fought a battle. In the second half we figured out what they were doing and found a way to win.”

Senior player Cooper Dansby No. 6 acknowledged the amount of pressure the young athletes were under as they competed in the championship because of the change in expectations of their abilities through recent seasons.

“There was definitely a lot of pressure,” Dansby said. “We were used to being the underdog and not expected to win but this year we came in and we were expected to win, and it was a high standard for us to actually go in and win.”

Wildcats head coach Lebo Jones gave credit to the Rebels for their impressive performance on Thursday, highlighting the Rebels defense who have remained at the top of the state leaderboard all season.

“I thought we did all we could do,” Jones said. “We tried everything in the book. They [the Rebels] have only given up 51 points all season and it shows, it’s for a reason. Every time we tried they were pretty much all over it… We got down to the 25 or the 30 several times, but we just couldn’t get it into the endzone. Hats off to their defense.”

Moye said that throughout this season as well as the previous three seasons, the athletes have performed to the best of their abilities, shown a great amount of effort and dedication, and made him proud every week. 

“This team has been super special, and I hold them dear to my heart. For the past three seasons they’ve given me everything they had, and they’ve been able to hold that trophy up three times. I love them just like they are my sons.”