Two football teams will compete tonight and one of them will earn their first victory of the season.
That is the scenario the North Sunflower Academy Rebels face when a trip to Hebron Christian School in Pheba will find a pair of 0-3 teams battling it out.
The Rebels found the going rough on their own field last Friday as they dropped a 52-6 non-district decision to Calhoun Academy (1-2) of Calhoun City.
Meanwhile, that same night the Eagles from Pheba (located near Starkville) were manhandled by 1-2 Kemper Academy of DeKalb by a 54-0 margin.
With offense apparently a struggle for Hebron Christian School, last Friday’s loss was the second consecutive shutout the Eagles have suffered.
Week two’s competition rendered a 56-0 loss to Marvell (Arkansas) Academy while the Eagles’ season opener resulted in a 66-26 loss to Victory Christian School of Columbus.
Despite the Hebron Christian squad’s slow start to the year, the Eagles are intent on improving upon last year’ s 1-9 campaign.
Tonight’s football matchup between NSA and Hebron Christian School is the first since the 2018 season.
Historically, Hebron Christian own a 4-1 edge in this series, an advantage aided by a two-game win streak the Eagles have over the Rebels.
In last week’s loss to Calhoun Academy, despite scoring a touchdown in the first quarter, the Rebels found themselves down by a 38-6 score by halftime.
It was junior Omarion Williams posting NSA’s touchdown by way of a 16-yard run to the end zone.
However, senior Wyatt Barr paced the Rebels’ ground game with 50 yards rushing while sophomore Lake Clem added another 37 yards.
In the passing game, senior quarterback Grayson Barnett completed two of his eight passes for 47 yards.
Freshman Nick Whitaker paced the NSA receiving corps with a 39-yard reception.
Defensively, Barr led the Rebels by recording three tackles for loss, one of which being a fourth down stop, while also recovering a fumble.
Clem and Barnett also contributed three tackles apiece during the Rebels’ night of play.
Meanwhile, Williams added two tackles, one of which was a quarterback sack.
