Hard hitters: The Isabella defense of Trey Calfee and Aaron Ratliff break up a pass intended for a Thorsby receiver on Friday.

By Brandon Sumrall | Special to the Advertiser

Some people say that beating your rival will go a long way toward forgetting past losses.

The Isabella Mustangs did just that Friday night against the Thorsby Rebels in dominating style, 40-0, in a rivalry that dates back to 1967 (Isabella leads the series 28-14, according to the best available records).

The Mustangs (4-6 overall, 1-6 in region play) dominated the first half, forcing the Rebels (1-9, 0-7) into three-and-outs on five of their seven possessions of the first half, while the Mustang offense scored on their first three drives—on a 5-yard touchdown run by Tyler Smith and touchdown passes of 15 yards and 11 yards from Smith to Brandon Chapman.

At the end of the first quarter, the Mustangs led 20-0.

Both teams settled into their defensive game plans and allowed no more scoring in the second quarter.

Things would get no better for the Rebels in the second half as the Mustang offense scored on its first possession of the half, on a 4-yard touchdown run by Scott Underwood that put Isabella up 27-0 with 10:15 remaining in the third quarter.

Following the touchdown, the Mustangs recovered an onside kick at the Thorsby 42-yard line, where Smith would take it to the end zone and put the Mustangs up 33-0 with 8:32 left in the third.

With another three-and-out by the Thorsby offense, the Mustang offense tacked on the last points of the night, on a 6-yard touchdown run by Giles that gave the Mustangs a 40-0 lead with 0:33.9 left to play in the third quarter. The score would stand until the end of the game.

“That’s a real good way to send our seniors out on top with a win and jump start our offseason program,” Isabella coach Scott Booth said. “We are losing a few great seniors, but we have some good players coming in behind them. It is just going to take some hard work during the offseason for us to get better, and that’s what we are going to do.”