A misty, drizzly, annoying rain fell as you arrived to Douglas Freeman on this night. Cloudy, gray and wet made Friday the 13th a bit gloomy and more ominious... But there was much to be happy about as the fans arrived to Douglas Freeman tonight. Homecoming 2017 for the Rebels with a parade down Three Chopt Road and the fans lined cheering on all those winding their way to the stadiu.

The Freeman Rebels were playing a team that resides just five minutes down Parham Road, longtime Colonial District and neighborhood rival JR Tucker. The seasons could not be more different while somewhat the same.

For JR Tucker, coming into tonight they were in the playoffs. At 3-3 record however the Tigers need to get wins when they can. Even at 3-3 however, for a team that is not used to being .500 so late in the season and being in position for the playoffs, it is quite the season thus far.

For Douglas Freeman however, the season has been somewhat of a disappointment given the success they have had in seasons past. The Rebels are 3-4, losers of two straight including last weeks last second loss to Deep Run.

One team in the playoffs, one team fighting to get back in the picture... Similar records but a lopsided series that favors the Rebels. Would the Rebels be victorious on Homecoming night?

To put it simply, the first quarter... the first half as a whole was a rather interesting one... For starters, there were no punts.

Tucker won the coin toss, covered 25 yards reaching the 30 of Freeman but never made it any further. So deep in Rebel territory, the Tigers of course went for it but failed to convert.

It seemed on Freeman's first possession of the night they might get that early lead. Jack Pollard, quarterback for the Rebels came through a few times for the Rebels. Faced with 4th & 3, Pollard busted off a 41-yard run! A few Amari Pleasant runs and the Rebels were knocking on the door of the endzone.

Fresh set of downs, ball at the 5 it took the Rebels till third down to get in the endzone when Jack Pollard punched it from 4 yards out but the touchdown was called back. The Rebels were found guilty of holding nullifying the Rebel touchdown. On the very next play Pollard went airborne and that proved to be the wrong move as Tucker's Michael Jackson would intercept the ball.

Freeman however would get the ball back as on the Rebels first play they fumbled. Freeman could not capitalize off of the turnover despite having the ball deep in the Tigers side of the field.

As the second quarter began the Tigers had the ball just as they did at the beginning of the first quarter. As was the case then too, the Tigers could not convert a fourth down. Tucker would get another crack at it though as on the Rebels first play, Jack Pollard through an interception and Carter Applewhite was on the opposite end.

With the ball at the Freeman 12 you would think it were only a matter of when the Tigers got the endzone but you would be wrong. The Tigers looked like they would be 3 and out but was able to convert a fourth down when Michael Jackson caught a pass from Dylan Jennings of 21 yards. That gave the Tigers the ball at the 1 yard line of Freeman but Keyonte Thompson would fumble the ball and Colin Cullop of Freeman would come up with the ball.

Freeman with the ball would begin a march from their own 2 yard line! In the process of this drive, they would lose quarterback Jack Pollard. Pollard would go down recovering a fumbled snap. From my vantage point I thoughtt it was his arm that was injured it but coaches had to carry him off the field which indicated a leg injury. in the third quarter he could be seen on the sidelines on crutches. Enter, Alex Erickson at quarterback.

Erickson would be at quarterback for the rest of the night for the Rebels but would only throw one touchdown pass. That touchdown pas came with 1:03 to go in the first half when he hit Amari Pleasants with a 16-yard pass to give the Rebels a lead at the half.

An interesting start to the third quarter... Tucker had won the coin toss and elected to receive in the first half. On the kickoff of the second half the ball appeared to bounce off a Rebel helmet, back towards the Tigers and they were able to fall on it. The Tigers would have the ball at the Freeman 49. Like so many times on this night however they would turnover on downs.

Freeman on the other hand would pickup right where they left off in the second quarter... scoring. The Rebels benefited from Tiger penalties but they also benefited from a mix of plays that saw Amari Pleasants and Alex Erickson move the ball down the field. The Rebels even had to overcome a penalty but despite everything the Rebels found the endzone again when Ned Mize busted off a 22 yard run.

With a 14-0 lead, the defense of the Rebels were handling their business extending the shutout by forcing the Tigers to a three and out.

Then with 23 seconds to go we saw our first punt of the night from the Rebels. A strange night continued.

As we crept into the fourth quarter the Tigers had the ball but once again, like so many times on this night, the Tigers faced a fourth down play. Dylan Jennings hit Michael Jackson with a pass of 11 yards to convert and with Patrick Taylor and Keyonte Thompson splitting the carries, the Tigers kept marching. Marching to the 10-yard line of Freeman where Patrick Taylor would take it in for a Tiger touchdown.

Just like that, a game that had been favoring the Rebels was within reach of the Tigers. With momentum turning the way of the Tigers, the defense roared to life as well. Tucker held the Rebels to a three and out giving the Tigers another shot.

Penalties however severely handicapped the Tigers next possession. First the Tigers were called for a delay of game, then they were called for a false start. The Tigers went backwards rather than forwards.

But while Tucker struggled on offense, so too were the Rebels... That gave the Tigers the ball back with 4:37 to go in the game. With the ball at the 50 after a Rebel punt, the Tigers were in excellent position to make something happen.

Patrick Taylor and Keyonte Thompson dominated the play calling with one or the other with the ball seven straight plays! This is not a bad thing, the mix of the two carved up the Rebel field putting the Tigers at the 10, 1st & goal with less than two minutes to go.

1st down, Keyonte Thompson was met at the line!

2nd down, Tucker was hit with a false start penalty but the Rebels declined it so now it was third down.

3rd down, Jennings pass is broken up.

The Tigers took a timeout, 42 seconds to go in the game.

4th down, Jennings sees his man in the endzone, puts it there in the endzone but the pass is broken up!

Freeman holds preventing the Tigers from a touchdown and game tying PAT!

Freeman wins their homecoming and keeping themselves in the playoff picture and dealing a blow to Tucker's playoff picture.

For Douglas Freeman look no further than Amari Pleasants. The senior running back who got the bulk of the carries tonight with Korry Cooper on the sidelines made good of the opportunity before him. Pleasants had 69 yards, the bulk of that in the run game with 54 yards but another 15 came catching passes from Jack Pollard and Alex Erickson. It was Erickson who hit Pleasants with the first and only touchdown pass of the night late in the first half. When the Rebels had a big play on offense, Pleasants was usually the one with the ball.

As for JR Tucker... with 125 yards of offense, you got to give Patrick Taylor his due. The junior running back had 78 yards rushing, 22 short of Keyonte Thompson's 100. Thompson however did not have the impact Taylor had in the receiving game. In addition to his 78 yards on 17 carries, Taylor had two receptions for 47 yards. Taylor also was responsible for the only JR Tucker touchdown when he punched one in from the ten.

Closest game between Tucker and Freeman since Freeman's 7-0 win in 2014.

4 of the top 8 seeds in Class 5, Region B lost tonight... Prince George, Meadowbrook and Mills Godwin all lost tonight as well. It will be interesting to see where Freeman Tucker end up on Monday when the ratings are released.

Three weeks to go, a lot still to figure out.