The sun hadn’t been up for very long at Harry E. Winters Stadium on July 27 when members of the South football team emerged from the locker room and headed out to the turf for an early morning workout.
As early as it was — and it’s still July — one might expect feet to be dragging, eyes to be barely open and motivation low.
That’s not the case this summer as the Rebels gear up for the 2026 season. There’s a new league to attack. There’s a new division of playoff football to embark upon. And there’s recent history that needs to be turned around.
“It’s the first year in our new conference,” senior quarterback Luke Jensen said. “There’s some blood to be taken. We’ve got to go out and do our thing.”
South enters the Chagrin Valley Conference this season after the disbanding of the former Western Reserve Conference. Additionally, the Rebels are in Division III, Region 9 this season, dropping down enrollment-wise from the Division II, Region 5 home they’ve been part of ever since the OHSAA expanded to seven divisions.
Trent Chmura of South is cheered on by teammates during a lifting workout July 27. The Rebel football team is looking to win its first league title since 2014 this fall and will do so in the new-look Chagrin Valley Conference. (John Kampf/The News-Herald)
A lot is new this season for Coach Matt Duffy’s squad, including new faces on the team such as Wickliffe transfer Elijah Fitch in the backfield. What isn’t new is the drive to succeed and work ethic, which was on display early on July 27.
“It’s a new challenge,” junior Josh Jensen said of the tasks at hand this season in a new conference and new playoff division, “but it’s not something we’re not build for.”
The Rebel roster is bent on turning things around this season. From 2008 to 2014 in the now-defunct Premier Athletic Conference, South went 59-17 (.776) overall and a gaudy 41-2 in league play. The Rebels notched undefeated league titles in six of the seven seasons over that span.
But from 2015 to 2025, a span of 11 seasons, the Rebels went 42-72 (.368) overall with a 23-45 (.338) mark in PAC and WRC action.
The Rebels hope to hang a conference championship banner this fall, something they haven’t done since the 2014 season when South was in the PAC.
“I hate to give a cliche, but one step at a time each day,” Duffy said. “It’s been a little while since we won a conference title.”
There’s a reason for that, Duffy pointed out.
“The conference we’ve been in , it seems like there was always someone,” he said. “There were a couple of years with state titles with Chardon and Kenston, Riverside had some crazy good years, and we just couldn’t get over the hump.”
Is this the year South gets over that hump?
The answer to that question will be revealed over the next few months. But Duffy and his staff like the hand they have been dealt as full workout practices in pads come later this week.
Luke Jensen is back for another year as the Rebels’ starting quarterback, Josh Jensen, Christian Santone and Anthony Mock are among a talented receiving unit, and the guys in the trenches — such as Scotty Balash, Aiden Ernst and Owen Willis — are eager to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
The addition of Fitch, a 1,000-yard rusher last year as a freshman running back at Wickliffe, adds another dimension.
“We’ve got some guys,” Duffy said. “We definitely feel from a skill standpoint we’ve got some guys who can throw it and have a number of pretty fast kids who can catch the ball. We have some new kids at running back, but feel good about what we’ve seen in workouts and camp.”
Said Josh Jensen confidently of the task in front of the team: “We’re in control of our own destiny.”
South opens the season Aug. 21 at Cuyahoga Falls. Between now and then, the Rebels plan on putting in the work to turn the clock back to the type of success they had from 2008 to 2014. That means no shortcuts — no dragging feet when the whistle blows to start the 7:15 a.m. workouts.
“I feel good about our team,” Duffy said. “I like our guys. It’s 7 a.m. and there’s a big crew here. They’re working hard, so we’re excited.”