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<p><strong>LowcoSports.com</strong></p>
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<p>Thomas Heyward’s potent offense took a hit with the loss of quarterback Dietrich Shuford to a season-ending knee injury, but the Rebels still have plenty of weapons and a dominant defense. They proved it Friday with a 24-0 home win over Beaufort Academy.</p>
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<p>Shuford suffered a torn ACL early in last week’s win at Hilton Head Prep, ending his promising freshman season and shifting the Rebels’ focus on offense.</p>
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<p>Two-way standout Brandon Howard took the reins Friday and made an immediate statement, breaking a 70-yard touchdown run to open the scoring. Howard finished with 101 yards on just seven carries and anchored the defense with an incredible 21 tackles in the shutout.</p>
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<p>James Townsend also had a big game, rushing for 106 yards on nine carries, including a 6-yard touchdown run to cap the scoring with 9:29 left in the second quarter, and Tony O’Banner added 70 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.</p>
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<p>Anthony Fripp contributed 62 yards on nine carries and scored a pair of two-point conversions in a thoroughly impressive showing from the Rebels’ ground game.</p>
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<p>Howard led a dominant defensive effort for the Rebels, while Preston Hamilton collected eight tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery, and Jordan Mikell picked off a pass. Lawson Hewlett added nine tackles, Cameron VanGeison added eight, and Symir Mitchell blocked and recovered a punt.</p>
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<p>THA limited a strong BA offense to 221 total yards and picked off two passes. Jaxen Porter led the Eagles with 82 yards on the ground and anchored the defense with seven tackles and a sack. Cody Dalrymple added six tackles, and Ben Lubkin picked off his fourth pass of the season for BA, which held strong in the second half and shut out the Rebels.</p>
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<p>The Rebels (4-1) host John Paul II for their final non-region game Friday, while BA (2-1) travels to Hilton Head Prep for a pivotal region game in Sea Pines.</p>
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