&uot;Luck prevails.&uot; Those were the words of veteran Shelby Academy coach Dewayne Kervin after his Raiders completed a desperation touchdown pass as the clock ran out on Coosa Valley Academy last Friday night.

The now undefeated

Raiders (3-0 in the area and 4-0 overall) were down 7-6 at the half and down 14-12 with just five ticks left on the scoreboard clock.

But Wade Logan got behind the Rebel defenders in the end zone and pulled in a 30-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Andrew Elm for the win.

&uot;Throw it and hope for the best,&uot; said Kervin of his team’s miracle 18-14 area victory over first year CVA head football coach Jim Stomps’ Rebels. Kervin said he thought his team played hard, but that it got &uot;whipped up front all night long.&uot; He said CVA ‘&uot;just controlled the line of scrimmage.&uot; And he said Stomps &uot;has got his people thinking they can beat people.&uot;

Kervin’s team not only had to overcome CVA, but injuries during the contest as well.

But one significant

injury played a role in CVA’s demise. Rebel quarterback Cooper Johnson suffered an injured thumb which ended the CVA passing game in the third quarter.

&uot;We just let it slip away,&uot; said Stomps of the final aerial assault by the Raiders. &uot;They put 11 (men)

in the box and my offensive line pushed them up and down the field.&uot; But he said of his team’s inability to pass in the late stages of the contest, &uot;When you become one dimensional, it’s hard to win.&uot;

Stomps had praise for his players, however. He said he has coached at schools from 1A to 6A, but his Rebels have &uot;more heart than any team I have coached.&uot;

Stomps said if his team had won, it would have been a &uot;team win.&uot; So, he called the loss a &uot;team loss.&uot;

The Rebels are now 3-2 overall

and 3-1 in area play.

It should be pointed out, however, that while the Rebels played four games and the Raiders have played only three, every team in the area added a win to its overall record due to the cancellation of football this season at Jefferson Christian. All Jefferson Christian games were forfeited.

Jared Duncan scored CVA’s first touchdown on a 12-yard pass from Cooper Johnson. Casey Hall added another touchdown from 1 yard out.

The Raiders scored on a 1-yard run by Ryan Elm, a 53-yard run by Mike Childress and a 30-yard pass from Andrew Elm to Wade Logan.

The Rebels had 13 first downs to 10 for the Raiders, rushed for 181 yards on 52 carries to 192 yards on 38 carries for the Raiders, and hit on seven of 11 passes for 69 yards to five of 12 passes for 60 yards for Shelby Academy.

The Raiders fumbled eight times and lost five. The Rebels recovered their own lone fumble.

Shelby Academy was penalized for 35 yards and Coosa Valley was penalized for 45 yards.

The Raiders punted once for 37 yards while the Rebels punted twice for a 23-yard average.

The Raiders will host Cornerstone for homecoming this Friday night while the Rebels will travel to play Central Selma