Last season was an odd year for the Byrnes Rebels, and it started even before the season began. They had several players transfer out of the program, so some guys who were expected to play a big role had to step up, forcing them to pivot to other players.
Additionally, with their stadium undergoing renovations, they had to play all their games on the road. Historically, the Rebels have been notoriously tough to beat at Nixon Field, so being away from home made it even more challenging for them. Not to mention their star running back Tre Segarra was on the shelf for most of the season, which caused their offense to struggle.
They finished the season 5-6 overall, but were 4-2 in region play, and in this region, with the difficulty it brings to finish third, it was impressive. If I am being honest, I figured they would finish around fifth in the region. They went to the playoffs facing Lexington in the first round and beat them 32-11, but then fell to a very good Spartanburg Vikings team in the second round 37-17.
So the Rebels will look to make some noise this season as they will be back to playing football on their campus, and I believe that alone will help add some wins to their total.
The Rebels will open their season on August 22nd at home against TL Hanna. On August 29th, they will be at home again, and then they will finish up region play on the road to face the Greer Yellow Jackets. Once region play begins, the Rebels open it up against Wade Hampton, then they play Dorman, Riverside, Gaffney, Eastside, Spartanburg, and they finish up Region play on the road against Boiling Springs.
On offense, it’s no secret that Segarra is their deadliest weapon, when he gets the ball in space, forget about he is going to go a long way. As mentioned, he was hurt for a chunk of the season, but when he was on the field, he was bound to break a long one.
Segarra had only 48 carries last year for 259 yards but averaged 5.9 yards per carry and scored seven touchdowns. He also added 70 yards through the passing game.
In the passing game this year, they will be looking for Chanin Harris to step up as a Junior. Last year, he caught the ball 25 times for 317 yards and two touchdowns. Harris is someone who possesses a lot of speed and could be another explosive play option for the Rebels
Caine Rogers, who will be a senior this year, should be the man behind center as last year he passed for 1,039 yards and 8 touchdowns. He completed 66 percent of his throws while averaging 9.4 yards per throw. He’s got teammates with speed if he gets the football to them; they can help him put up some numbers.
On defense, the Rebels will return their leading tackler, who is Jonathan Montgomery, who averaged around 9 tackles per game, but they are having to replace some guys that graduated, so guys will have to step up, like DJ Torrence, Justice Hopkins, and Octavious Davis.
Overall, I think last year’s injuries, renovations, and guys transferring made it a difficult year ago but they did have some moments of success. I think the Rebels bounce back this year and play more consistent football.
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