The Scott Central Rebels were lining up alongside Hydee Barlow (6’1″) and 272 lbs at one tailback. His name is Navontegue Strength, a 220-pound tailback. Jabrelynn Viians, a mere 210-pounder, might occasionally spell one of them. You want to know more about Scott Central’s Vivians? We’ll get there. Okay, Treyon Wash was the starting quarterback. He is a 10-year-old 150-pounder. But he can fly. They all ran behind strong linemen, including Carson Williams who is 6′ 5″ tall, weighs in at 305 pounds, and looks bigger. Scott Central coach Devin Cooper stated, “Yeah we got some strong kids.” “We knew going into the season that we would be a ground-and-pound team. While people talk about our defense, our offense is improving every week. They can take it on you.” They did. The Rebels won a thrilling 21-7 win over game to end a 15-1 State Championships season. Taylorsville was outmanned by the Rebels in front of 5,304 spectators at The Rock. The description “Ground and pound” is apt. The Rebels ran 323 yards on 60 runs, with Barlow often carrying one or more players and dragging another. Barlow looks like a pulling guard and says that he was a guard as a seventh- and eighth-grader. He said that he weighed only 175 at the time. He said, “But I’ve gained a lot of weight since then.” Naturally, he decided to run back. Do not let his size fool you. He’s as agile as any 272-pounder you’ll ever find. He jukes some. He leapt over two would-be tacklers who were trying to get low on him, as if he wanted to be hit high. Barlow stated, “I’m athletic.” “I also play basketball. I have always been able to run well. I’m difficult to handle. I run physical.” No brag, just fact. Barlow ran for 102 yards in 15 carries. Wash ran 101 yards on 19. Strong ran for 56 points on 10. Vivians, a sophomore defensive tackle, ran 26 on five. Ah, yes, Vivians. His older sister Victoria, who was a well-known Mississippi athlete of the 21st Century, may be familiar to you. She led Scott Central to a state basketball championship before moving on to Mississippi State and the WNBA. She is currently playing pro basketball in Israel. Jabrelynn Vivian, Jabrelynn’s younger sister, smiled when she was asked when his sister would find out about his first state championship. She probably watched it on her computer. If she did, she saw her alma matter fall behind 7-0 in the first quarter. Then, she just continued to grind, grind and grind. Her team scored nine points in each quarter, six more in third, and six more fourth. It should be noted that Taylorsville was without Ty Keyes (the passing genius who led the Tartars last year to a state championship as a ninth grader), the quarterback. Carson Evans, a ninth-grader who plays tight end, switched to quarterback and performed as expected considering the circumstances. The Taylorsville coach Mitch Evans said that Evans played well and tried to force one or two balls in there late, when we were running out of time. The problem is that we couldn’t run the ball and couldn’t defend. We knew exactly what they would do and they did it. We tried hard but couldn’t stop Taylorsville, 15-1. Keyes will return as a sophomore. Carson Evans will return to tight end and linebacker. A number of players will be back for the Tartars. Scott Central also has many outstanding young players. This was not the last matchup in Class 2.