1A high school football: Rebels, Holmes just too much for Altamont

EPHRAIM — One thing is clear about Rich High's football team this season. The Rebels know how to dismantle an opposing team on both sides of the ball in a hurry.

There was little drama involved in Rich's 35-7 victory over Altamont in the 1A semifinals at Snow College on Saturday afternoon, largely because the Rebels flexed their muscles on both offense and defense from the beginning.

Rich sprinted to a 20-0 lead by halftime, fueled by three touchdown runs by senior quarterback Bradley Holmes. On defense, the Rebels prevented the Long Horns from ever seriously threatening by limiting them to just 88 yards of total offense through the first three quarters.

Holmes credits Rich's continued domination in all facets to all of the hard work put in by his teammates up front.

"Our line has just been so good this year for us," Holmes said. "I'm giving all the credit to the line."

The Rebels' line certainly made it easier for Holmes to keep Altamont on its heels all during the second quarter.

Holmes ripped off a 31-yard run on the opening play of the quarter to put Rich up 7-0. He came back and took the ball long-distance again on the Rebels' next drive — this time going 32 yards to give his team a 13-0 lead with 9:24 remaining in the half.

Then, after throwing an uncharacteristic interception to Deejay Madsen at the Altamont 45, Holmes bounced back to march Rich 80 yards in nine plays — capping off the drive with an 8-yard TD run to give the Rebels their final score of the quarter with 24.6 seconds left before halftime.

Altogether, Holmes tallied 120 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 carries through the first two quarters — a performance that left the Long Horns wondering what had hit them. On many plays, trying to get a hand on him or impede him in some way, shape or form was akin to trying to douse an inferno with a cup of water.

For Rich, this is the sort of stat line the team has come to expect from Holmes.

"He does it every week," Rebels coach Ashley Brown said. "He's a very hard runner and he's hard to tackle."

Holmes added his fourth touchdown run — another 32-yard scamper, where he broke four tackles while operating out of a modified wishbone formation — to give Rich a 32-0 lead at the 8:09 mark in the third quarter.

Altamont had the ball in Rebels territory just once on nine drives in the first three quarters. That lone instance was set up when Madsen's pick gave the Long Horns the ball at the Rich 27-yard line. Even on that drive, Altamont was forced to eventually punt after a series of penalties drove the Long Horns back to their own 49-yard line.

Only a late fourth-quarter touchdown, coming on an 18-yard run from Waylon Thompson, saved Altamont from getting shut out completely.

Counting their effort on Saturday, the Rebels have held opponents to just 8.0 points per game this fall — giving them the second-best scoring defense statewide behind Juan Diego.

"Defensively, we just got 11 kids out there who rally to the football and love what they are doing," Brown said. "They know it takes all 11 of them to be successful."

e-mail: jcoon@desnews.com