By Stephen Dawkins | Assistant Managing Editor

Thorsby moved up to Class 3A in the newest football and basketball classifications released by the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

Classifications are studied and set every two years, based on number students in grades 10-12, and then on proximity to other schools.

Jemison stayed in Class 4A, though its region and area foes changed somewhat.

Thorsby football coach and athletic director Billy Jackson said school officials were aware the Rebels might move up.

“We said, ‘We will either be one of the biggest 2As in the state or one of the smallest 3As,’” Jackson said. “It was that close.”

Jackson said the reclassification will challenge all Rebels athletic programs because several new region foes—including Midfield, Montevallo and Tarrant—have been 4A schools within the past several years.

Basketball and football groupings for each local program are listed below:

Basketball

Class 4A, Area 7

Bibb County, Calera, Dallas County, Jemison

Class 3A, Area 5

B.B. Comer, Central Coosa, Thorsby, Trinity Presbyterian

Football

Class 4A, Region 4

Bibb County, Calera, Corner, Dallas County, Dora, Jemison, Oak Grove, West Blocton

Class 3A, Region 4

B.B. Comer, Central Coosa, Leeds, Midfield, Montevallo, Tarrant, Thorsby, Trinity Presbyterian

From Staff Reports

Horseshoe Bend pulled away in the second half of last week’s game against Thorsby to take a 32-14 win in the last game of the regular season for both squads.

The hosts led 14-0 at halftime and then scored on their first two possessions of the second half.

Trailing 26-0, Thorsby (2-8) got on the scoreboard with a 3-yard scoring run by quarterback Braden McRae.

Nathan Oldroyd took the snap from center as Thorsby’s short yardage QB and found paydirt from 3 yards out in the fourth quarter for the final score of the game.

Dalton Turner kicked the extra point on both THS scores, to go along with his eight tackles on defense.

Brandon Scalf had a sack in the game, and Aaron Thornton had an interception.

Nolan Hayes led the Rebels offense with 105 yards rushing on 16 carries.

McRae completed nine passes in 15 attempts for 69 yards.

By Emily Beckett | Staff Writer

The Rebels’ huddle after their 58-27 loss against R.C. Hatch in Thorsby Friday night was emotional as head coach Billy Jackson thanked his team for their efforts.

“You made my night,” Jackson told his players. “If I never win another game, you made my night.”

Jackson said the loss was disappointing, especially after such a good season last year.

“It seems like we’ve been playing catch-up all year long,” he said.

The Rebels have suffered numerous injuries this season, but Jackson said they’ve never given up.

“You find out what you’re made of in times like this,” he said. “Someone has been in the crosshairs all year long. They’re good kids. They didn’t quit.”

Braden McRae completed 17 of 30 passes for 127 yards with nine carries for 61 yards.

Carlos Campos had five rushes for 27 yards.

Kip Cleckley had six rushes for 81 yards.

Jonathan Spivey had six tackles, Dalton Turner had three and Carlos Campos had three.

The Rebels will travel to Horseshoe Bend Oct. 28 for the last game of their regular season.

By Steven Kilpatrick | Shelby County Reporter

The Vincent Yellow Jackets forced seven turnovers as they went on to beat the Thorsby Rebels 40-0 on Friday night.

The loss eliminates Thorsby from playoff contention.

Both teams got off to a slow start, but after punting on their first two drives, the Yellow Jackets finally found the end zone late in the first quarter as ShaCorry Lilly ran it in from 8 yards out to give his team the lead.

On the first play of Thorsby’s opening drive, Tanner Sands intercepted a pass to take the ball back for his Yellow Jackets. On the very next play, Lilly took the ball in from 24 yards out to take a 14-0 lead over Thorsby.

On the next kickoff, Terio Rogers stripped the ball from the hands of the return man and returned it 26 yards for another Yellow Jacket touchdown. The Vincent defense forced punts on every drive following the turnover in the second quarter and scored on the final two drives of the second quarter.

A 76-yard pass from Damauntey Johnson to Terio Rogers and a 64-yard run from ShaCorry Lilly gave the Yellow Jackets a 33-0 lead going into the locker room.

Thorsby got the ball to start the second half. After driving the ball across midfield, the Vincent defense forced yet another turnover, this time an interception by Terio Rogers. This would lead to a clock-grinding, 12-play drive that led to a touchdown run by Micheal Gilham to give Vincent a 40-0 lead.

As Vincent was trying to eat most of the clock in the final quarter, Thorsby was still trying to get on the board. But the Yellow Jacket defense would not let up.

Vincent forced two more turnovers in the fourth quarter, both in the red zone and stopping potential scoring drives.

By Stephen Dawkins | Assistant Managing Editor

Thorsby coaches knew coming into the season there were going to be several new components in the Rebels’ offensive machine.

Two seem to be working remarkably well together: quarterback Braden McRae and receiver Matt Morgan, both of whom are sophomores.

The duo is helping make up for the production lost from last season, after the team’s leading passer, receiver and top two leading rushers were lost to graduation.

In last week’s 56-42 homecoming win over Central-Hayneville, McRae completed 19 passes in 25 attempts for 275 yards and five touchdowns, and rushed 17 times for 100 yards and another score.

Morgan, meanwhile, caught 11 passes for 171 yards, four touchdowns and a 2-point conversion.

“In the 14 years I’ve been here, we’ve never had a receiver and quarterback have a game like Matt and Braden did (last) Friday,” Thorsby offensive coordinator Corey Clements said.

The pair had help from junior Nathan Oldroyd, who had nine rushes for 21 yards and two touchdowns to go along with seven receptions for 84 yards and one TD.

From Staff Reports

Thorsby (1-5, 0-4) fell at American Christian (5-1, 4-0) last week, 59-7.

The Rebels scored on a touchdown reception by Matt Morgan. Morgan had five catches in the game for 49 yards.

Quarterback Braden McRae completed 11 passes in 18 attempts for 65 yards.

Dalton Turner and Aaron Thornton had six tackles each to lead the defense.

THS host Central-Hayneville for its homecoming game. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

By James Dubuisson | Special to the Advetiser

It has become a Thorsby tradition for the football players, cheerleaders and coaches to eat apples “under the shade tree” the Monday after a win. On Monday, the Rebels will be eating apples because they defeated Shades Mountain Christian 32-7 on Friday night.

The Rebels opened up the scoring 46 seconds after kickoff as sophomore quarterback Braden McCrae scored on a 12-yard run.

THS led 6-0 with 11:14 left in the game.

Stephen Mims, a senior who has not played since being injured in the first game of the year against Verbena, made the first of his three interceptions on the Eagles’ first drive of the game. The Rebels were forced to punt the ensuing drive.

Shades Mountain scored their only points of the game after a couple of missed tackles led to an 80-yard touchdown with 3:22 left in the first quarter.

The Eagles led the Rebels 7-6 at the end of the first quarter.

McCrae scored the first points of the second quarter with another touchdown run, this one from two yards out.

THS led 12-7 with 7:40 left on the clock.

Then Rebel receiver Matt Morgan caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from McCrae with 3:45 left in the first half to put the Rebels up 18-7.

On the next drive, the Eagles’ quarterback threw a pass that was tipped by his receiver. Morgan, who also starts on defense, intercepted the ball and returned it 63 yards for a touchdown.

The Rebels took a 25-7 lead into halftime.

The score would remain that way all the way up until there was less than a minute left in the game. Junior Nolan Hayes ran the ball in from the 12-yard line, putting the Rebels up 32-7.

McCrae had 277 total yards as he threw for 157 yards and ran for another 120.

The Rebels’ receiving corp was led by Mims and Morga. Mims had 84 yards receiving on seven catches, and Morgan had three receptions for 65 yards.

By Stephen Dawkins | Assistant Managing Editor

Thorsby football coach Billy Jackson knows his team is getting better.

His biggest task is to help the Rebels see it themselves.

Winless Thorsby keeps getting closer to breaking through for a win—the latest example was last week’s 34-24 loss to a solid Billingsley team—but Jackson must stave off the frustration that comes when an inexperienced team struggles.

“They played hard Friday. We’re just inexperienced,” Jackson said. “We’re going to have growing pains this year; it’s going to happen.”

Sophomore quarterback Braden McRae is especially feeling the pressure. McRae has played well—he has completed about half of his attempts for averages of more than 100 yards and one touchdown per game—but Jackson knows that QB is the most visible position on the field.

Jackson talked to McRae this week and drew a parallel with his season so far and the start of Andrew Farris’ varsity career. Thorsby went 0-10 during Farris’ first season as a starter (his sophomore year). As a senior, Farris led Thorsby to a school record-tying eight wins by accounting for 37 touchdowns and more than 2,500 total yards.

Quarterback isn’t the only position with a new face. Thorsby has nine new defensive starters, and the only returning skill position player—senior receiver Stephen Mims—hasn’t played since he suffered any injury during the first game of the season.

“They’re getting a lot better real quick,” Jackson said. “I know everybody is disappointed. Expectations are high here. I tell them there’s a difference between getting beat and losing. You lose if you give up. You can still hold your head high if you get beat because you gave it everything you had.

“We got beat Friday night.”

Because they’re losing the right way, the Rebels will soon know how to win.

By James Dubuisson | Special to the Advertiser

Billingsley scored on the first play from scrimmage Friday and went on to win, 34-24.

Junior running back Jimmie Lanier went 67 yards for the first score of the night, and the Bears led 6-0 with 11:38 left in the first quarter.

Thorsby would be the next team to score as Rebel receiver Matt Morgan caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Braden McRae.

The Bears scored the last points of the first quarter as BHS quarterback Devion Hardy hit Torrey Greene on a 28-yard pass.

The score was 12-6 at the end of the first.

With 5:55 left in the second quarter, Lanier ran the ball 34 yards to put BHS up 20-6.

The ensuing kickoff was returned 95 yards for a THS touchdown by Morgan.

Thorsby got the ball back with just over 3 minutes left in the half. On the first play of the drive, Morgan caught a 49-yard pass from McRae for a touchdown with 3:00 left in the half. THS would then be stopped on the 2-point conversion try and trailed 20-18.

BHS then pounded the ball 1 yard into the end zone with 6.5 seconds left in the half.

BHS was leading at halftime 26-18.

The teams’ defenses controlled the rest of the game as only a combined 14 points were scored in the second half.

THS scored the first 6 points of the half with 9:46 left in the third quarter. Senior running back Sean Tillery caught a 20-yard pass as he fell into the end zone. THS still trailed, 26-24.

The last points of the game were scored by BHS senior Carlos Caver with 3:42 left.

BHS was led by the 16.7 yards per carry of Lanier, as he ran for 288 yards on 17 carries.

Senior Aaron Thornton led the THS defense as he forced a fumble and recorded many of the Rebels’ important tackles.

By Shane Gaut | Selma Times-Journal

The Thorsby Rebels traveled to Marion Friday night looking to stop a powerful Ram rushing attack, but the Rebels, (0-2) on the season, had no answer for the Rams’ offense as they fell 68-28.

Thorsby coach Billy Jackson said his team didn’t play well enough to win.

“All I know is we had our rear ends handed to us tonight,” Jackson said. “Hopefully we’ll bounce back next week and be a little more fired up.”

Francis Marion (2-0) scored on its first three possessions to make it a 20-0 game before the Rebels put a point on the board.

Francis Marion coach Javaris Jackson said his team was on a mission, and now looks ahead to next week.

“We played with passion tonight. These boys remembered the 37-14 loss at Thorsby last year and came out hungry for a win,” Jackson said. “We head to Tuscaloosa next week to take on American Christian Academy who is number four in the state. If we play with the passion we played with tonight, we’ll win that game too.”

Thorsby quarterback Tyler Jones threw a quick pass to Jared Harper in the flat and Harper was able to sprint 20 yards for a Rebel touchdown with 1:09 left in the first quarter to make the score 20-6.

The Rebels would never get any closer.

The Rams rushed at will, cutting the Rebel defense like a hot knife through butter and racked up over 450 yards on the ground, not to mention 76 yards through the air.

Of the Rams three 100-yard rushers, fullback Demetre Williams led the Rams with 125 yards on the night with his longest being an 82 yard scamper for a touchdown.

Kenneth Mickens finished with 111 yards and Toriance Herring piled up 125 of his own for the Rams.

Francis Marion led 44-6 at the half and began to sub players beginning in the third quarter.