Vincent travels to Reeltown in first round

Published 12:00 pm Wednesday, November 7, 2012

By MICKEL PONTHIEUX / Sports Reporter

VINCENT – The Vincent Yellow Jackets will travel in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs on Nov. 9 when they take on the Reeltown Rebels.

The Rebels (9-1) clinched the Region 5 championship with a 7-0 record after closing the season on nine straight wins. Reeltown’s only defeat came in its season opener vs Dadeville.

Vincent (7-3) took fourth in Region 6 to clinch their spot in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, and the second under Yellow Jackets’ head coach Zeb Ellison.

The Yellow Jackets average 417.1 total yards per game led by junior running back Rodney Groce. Groce has ran for 1,543 yards on the season with 11 touchdowns while Antonio Rogers leads the Yellow Jackets’ receivers with 623 yards and six scores.

The high-powered Vincent offense, who averages 39.8 points per game, will have to contend with a ungiving Reeltown defense. The Rebels have only allowed 12.4 points per game this season including two shutouts.

While the Rebels haven’t given up many points, the Reeltown offense has been putting up impressive offensive numbers. The Rebels average 32.1 points a game this season and are led by Tywone and Ariko Stewart.

Tywone ran for three touchdowns on 109 yards rushing in their regular season finale win over Notasulga while Ariko led the Rebels with 203 yards on the ground and a touchdown.

The Nov. 9 meeting will be the fifth between the two schools. Reeltown leads the series 4-1.