By Fred Guarino
The Lowndes Signal

The 7-1 Autauga Academy Generals and their standout Alabama commit tight end O.J. Howard took command of the Lowndes Academy Rebels Friday night, earning a 42-12 victory on the road.

Head football coach Mike Sims said Howard, who will be an early enrollee at Alabama (number one tight end recruit and number five overall recruit in the nation, according to Rivals.com) scored three touchdowns and had two called back for penalties.

The Generals amassed 154 yards rushing and 182 yards passing.

Howard had three catches for 69 yards and three touchdowns, rushed twice for 21 yards and was one of two passing for 31 yards.

The 3-5 Rebels had 119 yards rushing and 61 passing.

While the General needed no help, the Rebels contributed to their own demise with six fumbled snaps.

Rebels’ quarterback Cody Harrell was 7-18 passing, tossing two touchdowns to Garrett Headley for 16 and 6 yards.

Headley rushed for 55 yards on 10 carries and led in tackles with seven.

And the Rebels’ David Hussey had one fumble recovery.

With 4:46 left in the first half, the Rebels were holding their own with the Generals trailing 13-0. But by the half, the Generals had ballooned out to a 35-0 lead.

The Rebels never quit making it a 42-6 contest with 9:30 left in the fourth quarter and making it 42-12 with less than a minute left in the game.

“We expected more from the team,” a disappointed Rebels’ head football coach Matt Marshall said. “Defensively I felt like we had people in position to make plays and just didn’t step up and make plays.”

He said he knew Howard was going to get the ball a good bit.

“We’re going to go back to work and get better and try to save our season and see how well we can do.”

The Rebels are 3-5 on the season 2-4 in regional play and will host Jackson Academy this coming Friday night.