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CEDAR CITY — The Rich Rebels repeated as 8-player champions Saturday morning with a 50-14 win over the Monticello Buckaroos.
The Rebels continuously forced takeaways to finish a game that was reminiscent of their 55-20 regular season win against the Buckaroos.
The first half promised a Rebel-dominant game. They used the first 12 minutes to put up 26 points, and posted 17 more in the second quarter to boast a 43-6 lead at the intermission. Each team scored just once in the second half, letting Rich run away with the blowout victory.
Monticello started with the ball in great field position. Jaeden Camacho returned the opening kick to the Rich 36-yard line to set up his teams' possession, but the Rebels quickly shut it down.
Rich took over on downs at their own 29-yard line and wasted no time getting on the board. Quarterback Carter Hoffman called his own number and trekked to the end zone for a 59-yard score. The Rebel defense took the field with the same intensity the offense did, and forced the Buckaroos into their first punt.
"We knew if we just came out and ran what we ran all year and played as who we are, that we would come out with the win," Hoffman said.
Drake Weston returned the punt from midfield and made his way to the end zone, boosting the Rebels into an early 14-0 lead. Rich got the ball again when Ryker Hoffman intercepted a pass from Monticello quarterback Jackson Keyes.
The resulting drive ended in a rushing touchdown from Rebel Hudson Parry. A blocked extra-point kick made the score 20-0.
Parry scored the next touchdown as well, a 46-yard run to make the Rebel lead even more comfortable.
Carter Hoffman took to the air to build the lead to 33-0. He hit Ryker Hoffman in the end zone for the Rebel's only passing touchdown of the game, and Dylan Fonnesbeck finally put an extra-point kick through the uprights.
Fonnesbeck scored the next 3-points as well with a 33-yard field goal, set up by a Ryker Hoffman interception.
Weston capped off Rich's first-half scoring with a 17-yard run, putting Monticello in a 43-0 hole.
With 11 seconds on the clock, the Buckaroos got themselves on the scoreboard. Quarterback Jackson Keyes connected with Carter Rogers to spoil the shutout before the break.
Rich struck first when the teams returned to the field, but not until they shaved seven minutes off the clock. It took just one play for the score, with Parry taking the handoff for 81 yards and scoring his third touchdown of the game.
The Buckaroos answered with a long touchdown of their own. Keyes and Rogers connected for the second time, and a successful 2-point try put 50-14 on the scoreboard, where it stood.
"It's my last time playing football, so there's a little bit of mixed emotions," Carter Hoffman said of the win. "But overall I'm happy."
