Rebels pitch fourth shutout of the season
Published 12:00 am Monday, October 14, 2002
Southland played its regular-season finale at home on Friday night and came away with the 28-0 win. The win itself is not important because it was the fourth win (all shutouts) recorded this season for the Rebels. It was not important because it improved the team's winning percentage to .500 in the Three Rivers Conference. It was important because it was possibly the last home game of Southland's veteran head coach Dick Strand.
Strand will be retiring this season after 33 years of coaching Rebel football. His compassion for the game, leadership and fatherly mentorship will be sorely missed by students, faculty, and fans alike.
The football team took it upon themselves to make it a special occasion by soundly defeating Chatfield in front of a home crowd on Parents' Night.
The Rebels' first points came in the second quarter, when Tim Schneider took a 5-yard pass from quarterback Adam Nagele into the end zone.
Steve Snyder took the ball on a brief 1-yard stroll with less than two minutes in the half to score the second touchdown. The Rebels had a 14-0 lead at the halftime whistle.
Pete Churchill crossed the goalline late in the third period on a 5-yard run for the next score.
Nagele finished the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 3-yard run of his own to make the final 28-0. Nagele went 4-4 on his point-after kicks as well as leading Southland to 328 yards of total offense. The ground attack accounted for 200 yards, while the Rebel defense held Chatfield to only 101 total yards.
The players rewarded Coach Strand on the win by dumping a container of ice water on him.
The Rebels, who are 2-2 in the Three Rivers' Southern Division and 4-3 overall, will travel to Kingsland for the final game of the regular season.