For 47 minutes, the Abilene High football team went toe-to-toe with Class 5A Division I No. 10 Amarillo Tascosa on Friday night in both teams’ season opener at Shotwell Stadium.

A disastrous final minute of the first half, however, was the difference as the Rebels picked up a 26-20 win over the Eagles, who were being led by interim head coach Jeff Rhoads while Mike Fullen battles cancer.

Tascosa scored a pair of touchdowns in the final 25 seconds of the first half to turn what had been a tie game to that point into a 13-point advantage at halftime.