By Connor Mullins

The Eagles lost to another Rebels team on Thursday night Sept. 5, but this time at a home game against Midland Lee. The Rebels, ranked number 25 in District 2-6A, beat the Eagles 35-21 at Shotwell. After the loss, the Eagles are still 6 wins away from 700 wins in history.

The Eagles and Rebels have always played close. In fact, in the past 5 years, the Rebels have scored 132 points and the Eagles have scored 130 points. The Eagles currently lead the series between the 2 schools 3-2.

Eagles senior QB Eric Abbe struggled to get the ball moving on the first couple of drives and was eventually taken out of the game after not scoring on the first three series and throwing an interception in the first quarter. Backup QB Matthew Ezzell, junior, then came in for the next drive and threw a 30-yard touchdown to give Abilene High the lead, 7-0.

QB Michael Serrano of Midland Lee then came in on the next drive and threw a 56-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7 in the first quarter. After this, the floodgates opened for the Rebels, and they went into halftime leading 21-7.

The Eagles struggled with their opening drive of the 3rd quarter and Serrano and the Rebels went onto score another touchdown, making the score 28-7. The Eagles then came back on the next drive with Abbe and made the score 28-14. Both teams got the ball back in the 3rd quarter but were unable to convert.

In the 4th quarter, neither team gained points on their opening drives. However, Serrano led his team to the end zone on the second drive of the 4th quarter making it 35-14 Rebels. It went back and forth until the Eagles defense finally forced a turnover and scored a 43-yard fumble recovery with under a minute to go in the fourth. The turnover, however, was not enough for the Eagles, who lost 21-35. The Eagles (0-2) have a lot of work to do ahead of next week’s Crosstown Showdown with the Cooper Cougars (2-0).

Game Notes:

  • The Eagles defense was torched again in Week 2 and struggled to make tackles all night.
  • Abilene Backup QB Matthew Ezzell went 4-4 for 92 yards.
  • Abilene Starting QB Eric Abbe went 9-23 for 70 yards and will start Friday night was the Cougars.
  • Abilene RB Phonzo Dotson led the Eagles in rushing with 18 carries for 113 yards.
  • Abilene WR’s Tre Phillips and Jeshari Houston both finished the night with 67 yards. Houston caught a TD pass.
  • On defense for the Eagles, Jorge Hernandez led the game in tackles with 7 solo and 4 assisted tackles and scored on a fumble recovery.
  • Senior DL Dylan Wright had the only tackle for a loss and led the Eagles defense in QB hurries with 3.
  • Midland QB Michael Serrano finished the game with 5 touchdowns.
  • Midland WR Loic Fouonji had another big game and scored a 60-yard TD pass from Serrano.
  • Midland WR Evan McMaryion had a big performance and scored a 56-yard TD pass from Serrano.
  • The Rebels were #25 in 6A on Thursday night and are now #24 heading into Week 3 according to TexasFootball.com