Written by
Beth Farrar, SMT Writer

It was a great victory for the Richland Rebels on their home court as they played against the Kelly Hawks earlier tonight. The Rebels weren’t sure how this game would turn out due to the turn out of their last home game against the Risco Tigers, where they lost after a long winning record of home games. Tonight, the Rebels really redeemed themselves and proved that their hard work and dedication as both players and teammates has finally paid off.

The Rebel fans and the Rebel Rousers Pep Club were at the gym tonight all riled up and ready to watch a good game but they had no idea that it was going to be as good as it was. When the first quarter started, Richland got the tip off and scored five points in a row with ease due to free throws. The Kelly Hawks had a problem with getting their hands on the ball for more than a couple seconds. The Rebels received multiple free throws throughout the game due to the Hawks fouling.

Senior Nick Daniels and his teammate senior Richard Forshee both made each of their free throws and played a major part in the Rebels’ defense. Sophomore Marcus Grayson ran offense for the Rebels and scored multiple times by tossing up layups. Forshee caught nearly every rebound the Hawks tried to make. For the majority of the quarter, the Hawks didn’t have any points at all, but when time ran out, the quarter ended with a score of 21 to 8.

During the second quarter, the Rebels established a twenty point lead due to many more fouls called on the Hawks, giving the Rebels a chance to sink more free throws. Forshee, Daniels, and Grayson all had a number of points throughout the quarter and were in perfect harmony while passing to each other and their teammates. The twenty point lead that was made during this quarter was kept throughout the rest of the night. Junior Adam Lane was put into the game and was a strong defensive player as the Hawks attempted to catch up with the home team. When the buzzer went off for half time, the score of the second quarter was 46 to 22 with the Rebels still in the lead.

During halftime, the Rebel Pep Band played a couple of new songs that they have been practicing in band class. The crowd loved their performance and enjoyed the variety of different types of music, including the original classic song: Go Big Red. The other songs that were performed include: Dixie, Chameleon, Fifth of Beethoven, and Hot Hot Hot.

As the game continued, the third quarter seemed to bring troubles for both teams. The harmonic passing and the rhythm of the ball seemed to change and players in both jerseys were missing the ball or passing to the other team. The Rebels seemed to stop playing their defense and tried to switch over to offense, leaving the Kelly players wide open and allowing them to shoot three pointers with ease. The Rebels still had multiple free throws and kept the lead, turning the twenty point lead into a thirty point lead by the end of the third quarter with a score of 65 to 37.

During the final quarter, the Kelly Hawks could not catch up to the Rebels as the Rebels began to score like they had in the first half of the game. Senior Jesse Barnes had multiple blocks that had the crowd cheering as Forshee got the rebound and tossed the ball to Grayson, who went in for another layup. The Rebels got back on their feet and started playing with a stronger defense that wouldn’t let the Hawks even attempt to score. During the fourth quarter, the Hawks only scored two points with a final score of 79 to 39 with the Rebels taking home the win.