The Willoughby South Football team wanted to get back to playing fast.
Against Brush Football on Friday night, the Rebels showed exactly what that can look like.
Luke Jensen threw five touchdown passes, Anthony Mock delivered two explosive scoring catches, and South raced out to a commanding first-half lead on the way to a 45-21 victory over the visiting Arcs.
The win improved South to 3-0 for the first time since 2021 and gave the Rebels their sixth victory in the last seven meetings with Brush.
“Getting to 3-0 has felt great, knowing that next week there’s an opportunity to get to 4-0,” Jensen said.
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South coach Matt Duffy has watched a relatively young group continue to grow through the first three weeks.
“Obviously, our kids are growing and getting better each week,” Duffy said. “To start out 3-0, it gives confidence to some of our young guys and new players in the mix. I’m just happy with the way they’re running around and playing hard right now.”
South strikes quickly
The Rebels wasted little time attacking downfield.
Mock hauled in a 40-yard reception to move South to the Brush 17, and Jensen soon connected with Josh Jensen for an 11-yard touchdown with 10:07 remaining in the first quarter.
A 48-yard completion from Jensen to Tyler Hacker helped set up a 40-yard field goal that pushed the lead to 10-0.
Elijah Fitch followed with a nine-yard touchdown run at the 3:13 mark, and South struck again before the quarter ended when Jensen found Josh Jensen for a 15-yard touchdown with 22 seconds remaining.
Just like that, South led 24-0.
Brush cut into the deficit when Lawrence Moore scored on a five-yard run with 7:01 remaining in the second quarter, but the Rebels answered with one of their biggest plays of the night.
Jensen connected with Mock for an 84-yard touchdown to restore a 31-7 advantage.
Later in the quarter, Jensen hit Christian Santone for a 65-yard gain that again flipped the field.
South’s defense then created another opportunity when an interception was returned to the Brush 26. On the very next play, Jensen found Mock for a 26-yard touchdown with 14 seconds remaining before halftime.
South took a 38-7 lead into the break.
Jensen spreads it around
Jensen added his fifth touchdown pass in the third quarter, connecting with Ethan Christopher from seven yards out to extend the lead to 45-7.
The five touchdown passes were spread among three receivers, and South’s passing game consistently stressed Brush across the entire field.
“Our receivers get open and make it really easy on me to deliver solid throws,” Jensen said. “I also want to shout out my guys up front.”
Duffy was especially pleased with how many players became involved.
South had seven different players catch passes, with no receiver dominating the volume.
“We’re trying to spread it out,” Duffy said. “We had seven kids catch balls. The most catches anybody had was three. We had another three guys with two catches and three others with one. That’s kind of what we’re trying to do — get the ball all over the place.”
Having an experienced quarterback makes that approach possible.
“When you have a three-year starting quarterback, you’ve got a chance to get that done,” Duffy said.
Jensen pointed to communication as the key to keeping the offense operating smoothly.
“Getting everyone on the same page is the biggest thing for our offense,” Jensen said. “When we communicate on the offensive line and at receiver, we’re a much better team.”
Rebels finding their tempo
Beyond the explosive plays, Duffy saw another encouraging development.
South is beginning to play with the kind of pace the program historically emphasized.
“For forever we were a very high-tempo team,” Duffy said. “The last two years, we slowed down, and it’s taken some time to get that back.”
Against Brush, the Rebels repeatedly got aligned quickly enough to take advantage of a defense still trying to get organized.
“We have things we look at where we can get a snap off before the chain crew is ready, and we got five or six of those last night,” Duffy said. “We also missed about five or six opportunities. So, we’re getting there. We’re getting back to playing at a really high tempo.”
That combination of pace and distribution was exactly what Duffy hoped to see.
“Those are probably the two biggest areas I was most happy with in terms of the passing game,” he said. “We were going fast, and the ball was going to different places on the field.”
South also continued to make progress up front.
“The run game was solid, too,” Duffy said. “That’s an area where we’re really young at a lot of places up front, but those guys are improving each week and really played pretty solid.”
Defense limits explosive plays
Brush entered the game with an offense capable of putting up points, but South kept the Arcs under control until two fourth-quarter touchdowns after the outcome had largely been decided.
That was significant to Duffy because of what Brush had done to South in previous meetings.
“Limiting the big plays was really important to us,” Duffy said. “Last year, they had three or four plays over 70 yards against us.”
This time, South allowed only one play Duffy considered a major breakdown.
“Other than that, we kept them in check, and that’s a testament to how well our guys ran to the football and tackled,” he said.
Duffy also praised the defense’s ability to produce stops in important situations and quickly return possession to an offense that was operating efficiently.
“They’ve also been really opportunistic in terms of situational football,” Duffy said. “We get stops when we really need to get them and get the ball back to the offense. We’re feeding off each other, which is really important.”
The Rebels are also managing a roster that includes several two-way players.
“We’re trying to figure out the chess match of when to rest guys because we do have some kids playing both ways,” Duffy said. “We’re trying to do as much as we can to limit that because when they’re tired, it’s hard.”
South takes control of Brush series
Friday’s victory improved South’s record to 22-12 in the recorded series with Brush since 1972.
South has now won six of the last seven meetings, including five straight from 2019 through 2024 before Brush earned a 40-34 victory last season.
The Rebels have scored at least 40 points in two of the last four meetings, beating Brush 41-26 in 2022 and 45-21 on Friday.
South has also been remarkably consistent regardless of venue in the series, posting an 11-6 record both at home and on the road.
Chance to reach 4-0
South’s next opportunity comes Sept. 11 when Lakeside Football visits.
The Rebels are 10-0 in the recorded series against Lakeside, but the two programs have not played since South’s 39-7 win in 2014.
South has outscored Lakeside 434-158 across those 10 meetings and is 5-0 against the Dragons at home.
More importantly for this year’s team, a victory would give South its first 4-0 start since 2021.
That opportunity is already on Jensen’s mind.
For a team rediscovering its tempo, spreading the football around, and continuing to gain confidence, 3-0 may only be the beginning.
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#11WILLOUGHBY SOUTH REBELS Football
2026-2027 Willoughby South Rebels Football Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Series* | Result | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug. 21, 2026 Friday | 1-0 | W 34-0 | 7:00 PM | Cuyahoga Falls | |
| Aug. 28, 2026 Friday | — | W 34-13 | 7:00 PM | Roosevelt Stadium | |
| Sep. 4, 2026 Friday | vs  Brush Arcs | 21-12 | W 45-21 | 7:00 PM | South Watch |
| Sep. 11, 2026 Friday | 10-0 | W 41-7 | 7:00 PM | South Watch | |
| Sep. 18, 2026 Friday | 19-11 | W 30-7 | 7:00 PM | South Watch | |
| Sep. 25, 2026 Friday | 10-23 | W 35-28 | 7:00 PM | South Watch | |
| Oct. 2, 2026 Friday | 26-8 | W 45-7 | 7:00 PM | Geneva Watch | |
| Oct. 9, 2026 Friday | — | W 42-6 | 7:00 PM | Harvey Watch | |
| Oct. 16, 2026 Friday | 34-19-1 | W 21-14 | 7:00 PM | North Watch | |
| Oct. 23, 2026 Friday | — | W 47-14 | 7:00 PM | South Watch | |
| Nov. 6, 2026 Friday | vs  Ursuline Fighting IrishPOSTSEASON | — | L 26-41 | 7:00 PM | Willoughby Watch |
Cuyahoga Falls
Kent Roosevelt
Lakeside Dragons
Madison Blue Streaks
Chardon Hilltoppers
Geneva Eagles
Harvey Red Raiders
North Rangers
Lutheran West Longhorns* Historical series data: Records shown are based on the OV Sports Engine historical football database beginning with the 1972 season. Earlier meetings may not be included.
