The Rebel football team honored its 1983 state title team in proper fashion as it came on late to beat Wabasha/Kellogg 33-21 in Adams Friday.

After W/K (1-2 overall) tied things up at 21 in the third quarter, the Rebels (3-0 overall, 2-0 Three Rivers) took the lead back when quarterback Mitch Nagele turned a busted play into a 30-yard touchdown scamper.

“We always tell Mitch when a play gets busted to just follow his blockers and he did that,” Southland head coach Shawn Kennedy said.

Southland put the game away on an 8-yard scoring run by David Schotanus late in the game.

“From where we were last week it was much better,” Kennedy said. “The offense stepped up and carried the load. The kids are starting to get it and we made some big plays.”

Two of those big plays came from the return game. Chris May returned a first half kickoff 91 yards for a score and he took a punt back 61 yards in the second half to give the Rebels a 21-13 lead.

Nagele, who had 76 yards passing, scored Southland’s other TD on a 1-yard sneak in the first half.

Zach Wolfe scored all three TDs for W/K, with two coming on catches and one coming on a run.

“They are a great football team and I mean that,” Kennedy said. “They could pass like crazy and they pushed us all the way.”

The Rebels ran for 156 yards and had three interceptions on defense.

The 1983 state champion Southland football team was recognized at halftime of the contest.