A week after a disappointing 14-13 homecoming defeat against rival Maple River the United South Central football team rallied for its biggest win of the season in a 29-25 victory over Minnesota Valley Lutheran.

The Rebels (2-5, 2-4) didn’t get off to a fast start in the first half but came on strongly in the second half to defeat the Chargers.

USC turned the ball over in three of its first four possessions and MVL (4-3, 3-3) took an 11-0 first quarter lead.

The game started to shift in the direction of the Rebels after a turnover at the Charger 2-yard line in the second quarter. The USC defense responded to the turnover by picking up a safety that pulled the Rebels to 17-10 at halftime.

In the second half the defense and quarterback Riley Swearingen started to take over. Swearingen beat MVL with his legs and his arm as he scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter and a 5-yard run in the fourth quarter to draw the game to 25-22. Then Swearingen connected with Chris Schultz on a 77-yard touchdown to give USC a 29-25 lead with 3 minutes and 50 seconds left to play.

The defense made two stops on the ensuing MVL possession and kept the Chargers scoreless in the fourth quarter.

The Rebel defense limited the Chargers to just 43 yards rushing and head coach Brent Schimek said that was one of the keys heading into the game.

“The defense stuck to the game plan and did an excellent job shutting down the run game,” Schimek said. “Holding them to 43 yards rushing was huge.”

Swearingen and the offense were equally impressive as the unit overcame four turnovers in the game. Swearingen finished with 193 yards passing, completing 13 of 19 passes. Riley Stenzel rushed for 82 yards and Matthew Wood added 77 yards as USC haad 370 yards of total offense.

Schimek said it was a big win for his squad and noted that any win near the end of the regular season is important for section seeding. The Rebels will try to use the momentum gained with the win next week against rival New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva. It’s one of the most anticipated games of the season as USC knocked off the Panthers in the section playoffs, ending a perfect 8-0 season for NRHEG. Both teams have had the date circled on the calendar for a long time.