What We Saw: Byrnes Finds A Way Against Hillcrest
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<p>Byrnes coach Reggie Shaw kept one thought in mind after Friday's 31-28 victory over Hillcrest. He told the Rebels once, and then he kept telling them. Over and over and over.</p>
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<p>"You found a way."</p>
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<p>On a day fraught with emotion, the Rebels did indeed find a way. The Rebels were playing without DE [player_tooltip player_id='267454' first='Chris' last='Foster'] and OL/DE <strong>Caleb Melton</strong>, injured in a Friday morning car accident as they were leaving a team breakfast. And, down those starters, finding a way for the Rebels included stout, physical defense.</p>
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<p>The Rebels played with an emotional edge from the very beginning.</p>
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<p><strong>Will Fowler</strong>, wearing Foster's No. 7, walked out as a captain and then made a bone-jarring tackle on the opening kickoff. [player_tooltip player_id='262702' first='Elijah' last='Barnes'] turned in a pair of physical plays on Hillcrest's first drive, including a perfect, lay-out deflection on a fourth-down ball that would have been a TD for the Rams. [player_tooltip player_id='267455' first='Knai' last='Cook'] played a relentless brand of defense in the secondary, dishing out vicious licks left and right.</p>
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<p>Meanwhile, the Rebels were playing with much the same intensity on the offensive side in the early going. They built a 24-0 lead behind TD runs from <strong>RJ Livingston</strong>, who scored twice, and [player_tooltip player_id='272708' first='Chamarryus' last='Bomar']. <strong>Kemren Prysock </strong>provided some tough yardage on the ground, and <strong>Colby Shaw</strong> ran the offense efficiently. </p>
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<p>However, emotion could only carry the Rebels so far. [player_tooltip player_id='267431' first='Avery' last='McFadden'] returned a kickoff for Hillcrest to cut the lead to 24-7. After Shaw tossed a TD to Ethan Morris to open the second half, the offense went quiet as Hillcrest rallied. [player_tooltip player_id='262574' first='Bennett' last='Judy'] threw TDs to <strong>Jaylen Neal</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='156630' first='Logan' last='Coldren'] to pull the Rams to within 31-21, and they were driving again when Fowler notched a fourth-down sack and got the ball back for Byrnes. Judy found Coldren for another score on Hillcrest's next drive, and the Rams got a stop to set the stage for some late drama.</p>
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<p>Hillcrest drove deep into Byrnes territory near the Rebel 20 with just under three minutes left, but <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1254251' first='Jaidyn' last='Ferguson']</strong> came up with a sack for a loss of 11. Hillcrest's FG attempt to tie just missed left, and Byrnes was able to run out the clock.</p>
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<p>They found a way.</p>
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<p><strong>Judy, Coldren end stellar careers</strong></p>
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<p>The game ended the careers of Judy and Coldren, who have helped serve as the spark plugs for the resurgence of Hillcrest football. Judy threw for 212 yards and three scores, and will leave the program as the all-time leader in a number of passing categories. Coldren had 79 yards rushing and 85 yards receiving in his final game.</p>
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Byrnes coach Reggie Shaw kept one thought in mind after Friday's 31-28 victory over Hillcrest. He told the Rebels once, and then he kept telling them. Over and over and over.
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