Rebels play for Kentucky Cup

Saturday, November 29, 2008

While moms, daughters and aunts hit the shopping trails and dads, sons and uncles polish off Thanksgiving’s leftovers, the U9 Hopkins County Rebels football team will be battling in the Kentucky Cup Classic.

After just a few weeks of practice, the young gridiron stars will head to Owensboro today for their second and final tournament of the fall.

Head coach Chad Cunningham, who also serves as defensive line coach for Hopkins County Central, organized the squad following the YMCA fall league’s conclusion and said he’s excited to be involved in the tradition of late fall football.

“It’s neat playing this late in the year,” he said. “It’s awesome to be able to do it, especially with a nine-year-old group. I was hoping to still be doing it with my Central football team, but it’s something I feel like, especially around this part, that people don’t get enough of.

“When you have to wear a sweatshirt and stuff, that’s when it’s getting to be football time.”

The Rebels began preparation for the Kentucky Cup Classic by participating in the King of the Hill tournament held Nov. 15. During the team’s competitive debut they split a pair of games against Montgomery County and Owen County.

Tailback Camron Johnson scored three touchdowns in the win against Montgomery.

Cunningham said Johnson has great vision and sees the field better than any other person his age.

“I try to juke people and try to make sure to read the ball and read my blocks, get good blocks,” Johnson said.

Johnson and his teammates have learned quickly despite their youth and lack of time spent preparing together.

The Rebels, a selected group picked by Cunningham and other coaches from the YMCA Warrior Coal-sponsored team, have shown no task is too difficult.

“I’m throwing some high school stuff at them,” Cunningham said. “Our high school works off wrist bands. With these nine-year-olds, we call everything off wrist bands. We call out a number and a color and they know exactly what play we’re running, so it’s impressive.

On the defensive side of the ball, the youngsters operate from four defensive fronts and run four or five stunts while the offense has learned nearly 10 different attacks.

First-year player Mallory Peyton said she has had no problem learning the plays.

“It’s been a good year, I had fun,” she said.

Peyton, who plays linebacker and offensive line, added she opted to play football because her brother picked up the sport.

During her first practice, Peyton showed she was not intimidated by her male teammates by making one of them cry, according to the coaching staff.

Like Peyton, Rebel Taylor Corbin also plays two positions: fullback and linebacker.

Cunningham said Corbin is a hitter, who listens and executes well.

Another Rebel player new to the sport is fullback Chandler Crist, who said he’s becoming more comfortable as the season progresses.

“It feels good that I know that I play football and it’s just a great feeling because it’s my first year,” he said. When I went out in the YMCA, I was kind of nervous.”

Although Cunningham does not have a son on this year’s U9 team, he said hopes to have an U8 team next year for his now seven-year-old.

Without the aid of others though, the team would not have been to get off the ground, Cunningham said.

“Kelly Forbes at the Y, she’s done a fantastic job of getting this league started up and Alliance Coal got us the money to buy the equipment with,” he said.

When Hopkins County reaches Owensboro they will be guaranteed two games and 12 to 15 teams will be expected to participate in the U9 bracket. The tournament will be held at the city’s Pop Warner complex, complete with four fields, lit with scoreboards. Championship games will be on the Apollo High School field.

The tournament comes during a heavy travel weekend for most families, but Cunningham said the parents are quite dedicated and do not want to let the players down by missing the opportunity to play football.

“If you told (the kids), well we’re not going because it’s Thanksgiving, you would see some of them awfully upset,” he said.

That fact couldn’t be summed up any better than the comments of Johnson, a New England Patriots fan, when he tried to describe what playing during Thanksgiving-time means.

“It feels good because it sort of makes me feel like I’m in the NFL,” he said.

The Rebels will begin the tournament at 12:45 p.m. today by taking on Breckinridge County, then Hopkins County will play at 4:30 p.m. against Pulaski County, winners of the King of the Hill.