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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

A northern Chilton clash late in the season between Thorsby and Jemison high schools went the Rebels way as both varsity teams prevailed on the road on Jan. 22.

Thorsby’s varsity boys team took down the Panthers 53-49 behind 23 points from freshman Max Burnett. The win split the season series between the two teams after Jemison won the first matchup 49-48 on Dec. 5.

Thorsby varsity boys head coach Russell Ricks has just recently gotten his team back to full strength after injuries hindered them through much of the first half of the season. He resorted to bringing up a few players from the junior varsity team for extra subs to combat the injuries. However, despite the low numbers, the Rebels are now 12-8 on the season after the win over Jemison.

“We are kind of up and down, but we have been playing better here the last several games,” Ricks said. “When we shoot it well, we can play with just about anybody, but if we do not we can lose to anybody.”

Burnett, who has just recently returned from injury around Christmas, has added a spark to the Rebels offense including leading the stat sheet against Jemison. Aiden Seeley followed closely behind with 21 points.

Thorsby has won five of its last seven games, and has played in five one possession games this season going 2-3 in those with all three losses coming at the buzzer.

Jemison was led by A.J. Ford with 13 points, followed by Luke Gann and Trenton Gaines with eight points each.

Makinley Turner and the Rebels took the varsity girls matchup as well against Jemison, 41-32. They also split the season series with the Panthers after losing 43-33 on Dec. 5. Turner led all scorers with 24 points.

“It is good to win over a county rival,” Kris Wood, Thorsby varsity girls head coach, said. “Our girls are playing really good ball right now, and playing with some confidence they didn’t have earlier in the year. We have some more big area games coming up, so hopefully we can keep it going.”

After starting the season 2-4, the Rebels have gone 9-3 since Dec. 8 and won six of their last seven games. They sit atop the AHSAA Class 2A Area 7 standings with a 3-1 record as of Jan. 22 with four more area games to play, their only loss coming on Jan. 20 against Central of Coosa County High School 49-47.