The Rebel Football team has managed to make it to the state playoffs and are holding the second spot for the district. The Rebels have solidified their spot with their win over East Central last week. This is the first time the team has attended state playoffs since 2018. 

   The final outcome of the game was 49-27. The Rebels overall record is 6-3 and 5-1 in the region.

   The Rebels continue to put in hard work as the playoffs approach, but in order to play their best they must be in the right state of mind. 

   “We just have to get over last week; [Picayune game] we got to get over Friday night, you know we lost Ashton on the fourth play of the game and then our defense didn’t do as well as we should have. We just have to get over that part mentally and just refocus, get back to work, and do what we have been doing all year,” Head Coach James Ray said.  

    “All the physical work is pretty much done, over the summer and the start of your season you get all your physical work, like conditioning and strength. Now this part of the season is just analyzing the other team and analyzing your own capabilities and what you can do during the game. So it is just kind of a mental game now everybody is pretty much the same strength and the same speed in the positions they are in, but now it is who can outsmart the other team, that’s typically who wins when it comes to the playoffs,” senior Conner Brown said.

   This year the Rebels have had a solid record and are continuing to push to make the community proud. The last time the Rebels were in a playoff game was in 2018, which the team lost. If the team can win, it will be their first playoff win since 2008. With the team keeping the pressure on, they have continuously been working hard to have gotten this far in the division.

   “Really we just had to stay focused. Every week we come and we know what we want, and that’s what we are going for, and so like every game we know what we want to do and we just push for that every week,” sophomore Jared Hollins said.

“I would say our coach and family, you know, we all look at each other as family and our coach has pushed us to be on a mission and we are trying to complete that mission,” senior Kotye Hyatt said. 

   As the team goes on to the next couple of games Coach Ray wants GCHS to know that they are ready to roll and not give up on them because there is a lot of football left to play.  

   Gill-Martin Stadium will host the first round of state playoffs on November 12 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets will only be available on Go Fan. Stay tuned for more information on who the Rebels will face off against next week.