Carroll Academy coach Bo Milton has been at several different schools in his coaching career.
But Friday night was a first for the veteran coach.
The Rebels used a balanced offense as they beat Winston Academy 30-14, giving Milton his first win over one of his former schools.
With the win, the Rebels improve to 6-4 and finish the regular season on a three-game winning streak.
“It was a good win,” Milton said. “And the game wasn’t really as close as the score indicated. We left a couple of touchdowns on the field and didn’t score at the end of the game. I thought we controlled the game from the beginning. We didn’t let them get their running game going and that upset their passing game. I don’t think the kids thought anybody gave them much of a chance. But they played their hearts out and got a well-deserved victory.”
The Rebels didn’t score on their first two drives as they went 11 plays on the first possession before throwing an interception at the Winston 23. The second was an eight-play drive that ended on downs at the Winston 21.
But the Rebels finally got win the end zone early in the second quarter as they went 62 yards in eight plays as Blaylock scored on a 38-yard touchdown run. The PAT failed and Carroll led 6-0.
After swapping punts, Winston took its only lead of them are as the Patriots scored on a 34-yard touchdown run. The PAT was good, and Winston led 7-6.
The Rebels made a late charge in the first half when Noah Beck intercepted a Winston pass and returned it 40 yards. Three plays later, Blaylock hit Beck on a 16-yard touchdown pass. Maddox Carpenter ran in the two-point conversion and Carroll led 14-7 at the half.
“We wanted to find a little more balance and I think we did that,” Milton said. “I thought we did a better job of throwing early and not just on third down. I thought Noah and Brennan had their best games running the ball. I just thought it was a total team effort. We saw a lot of things we have been waiting to see all year long.”
The Rebels got the ball to start the second half and went 47 yards in nine plays. Blaylock capped off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Drew Thomas. Blaylock hit the PAT and Carroll led 21-7.
After swapping punts, Carrol got 20-yard return from Noah Beck to give them the ball at the Winston 21. Three plays later, Blaylock hit Beck on a 21-yard touchdown pass and kicked the PAT as Carroll took a 28-7 lead.
Winston added a long drive that ended on an interception at the Carroll 1. But the Rebels fumbled and Winston scored to make it 28-14.
The Rebels added a late safety for the final of 30-14.
The Rebels had a balanced offensive attack with 189 yards rushing and 167 passing for 356 yards of total offense.
Blaylock had 85 yards rushing on 13 carries while Carpenter had 68 yards rushing on 20 carries. Blaylock was 11-of-19 passing for 170 yards with three TDs. Noah Beck had a big game with six catches for 131 yards and two TDS while Carpenter had two catches for 25 yards. Thomas had three catches for 19 yards and a TD.
On defense, Carpenter had nine tackles to lead the Rebels while Mathis Beck had eight stops. Noah Beck and Nathan Mathews each had interceptions.
“I thought the big thing on defense was we never let them run the ball,” Milton said. “They got some sweeps early, but we eventually took that away. I thought we controlled the game defensively. The excitement in our kids’ faces after the game was awesome. I was so pumped for them to go get a win like that. I think it gives us a lot of momentum this week.”
This week’s game
The Rebels will open the Class 4A playoffs at home with a familiar foe in Indianola.
The Colonels beat the Rebels 18-16 in week six of the season. The Colonels are 6-4 on the season but coming off back-to-back losses to Winston 27-14 and Central Holmes 20-14.
“We are calling this the revenge tour,” Milton said. “We get Indianola in the first round, and they beat us in the regular season. If we win that one, we would get Greenville St. Joseph and then probably Tri-County. I think Indianola is a lot like us. They can be really good at times and can struggle at times. They beat us the last time we played them. It should be a good game.”
