The Reeltown Rebels, after falling behind 7-0 early, rolled to a 42-14 win over Sweet Water Friday night at Nix-Webster Stadium on the RHS campus.

The Rebels used their power running game and a solid performance from their secondary to get the victory and a berth in round three of the Class 1A state playoffs. Reeltown’s offense racked up 360 yards rushing, while the defense picked off three Deon Williams’ passes.

RHS, after receiving the opening kickoff, fumbled the ball away at its on 34 on its first play from scrimmage. From there, the Bulldogs turned to running back Travion Lockett, who scored on an 18-yard touchdown.

Trailing 7-0 early in the first quarter, the Rebels finally got on track when Demetrius Stokes raced for a 47-yard touchdown run on RHS’s ensuing drive.

Sweet Water tried to answer the score, but Reeltown’s Brad Music ended the Bulldogs’ next drive with an interception at the RHS 40. Music returned the ball to Sweet Water’s 30-yard line and set the stage for a 30-yard scoring strike from quarterback Andre Smith to A.J. Hayden on the next play.

Things would continue to go sour for the Bulldogs on their following drive as Stokes hauled in the first of two interceptions on the night. The turnover again led to points, as Stokes capped the Rebels’ third drive of the night with a 2-yard touchdown run. Dylan Flurry, who hit all six of his PAT attempts, booted the extra point, giving RHS a 21-7 advantage with four minutes remaining in the opening stanza.

Reeltown added one more touchdown before the half on a 1-yard touchdown run by Aerial Smith. That score was set up by Andre Smith’s 33-yard run on a fake punt with less than two minutes remaining before halftime.

Sweet Water rallied at the start of the third quarter by driving 54 yards for a score. Lockett capped the drive with a 4-yard scoring run on a fourth-and-goal situation.

Reeltown, however, answered the score with a drive of it own. This time, Stokes ended the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run. Stokes ended the night with three touchdowns and 150 yards on 18 carries.

Andre Smith closed the scoring with 5:13 remaining in the game when he raced 55 yards for a touchdown.

For the game, Sweet Water gained 200 yards rushing on 61 attempts.

The Bulldogs (7-5), however, enjoyed little success through the air. They completed just 2 of 6 passes for 13 yards.

Reeltown (8-4) finished the game with 360 rushing yards and 41 yards passing.