NATCHEZ — Adams County Christian School took a break from district play Friday, but the game was no break as far as competition was concerned.

Despite giving up 187 yards on the ground, ACCS was able to pull away from Central Hinds Academy for a 49-28 win thanks to a couple of big plays late in the third quarter.

The Rebels’ Lester Wells scored twice on runs of 77 and 7 yards in the third quarter, and ACCS held on for a scoreless fourth to improve to improve to 8-1 overall.

“We clearly were clicking offensively for the most part,” Rebels head coach David King said. “We have lapses that should have put games away (otherwise). We’ve done that several times. Central Hinds is a very good football team, and we just seem to have a mental lapse once every series, and we have to get rid of that, but for the most part I thought we were in control of the game.”

ACCS led 35-13 at intermission, but Central Hinds got the ball first to open the second half and scored quickly when quarterback Skyler Price hit Mason Sollie for a 68-yard touchdown pass. It was Price’s only completion of the game, as he finished 1 for 11 with two interceptions on the night. Price connected with Sollie again for the two-point conversion, making the score 35-21 Rebels.

On the ensuing Rebel possession, an ill-advised throw by quarterback Tyler Stockstill led to a 20-yard interception return by the Cougars’ Daniel Humphreys for a touchdown with 8:50 remaining in the third. All of a sudden, it was a one-possession ball game.

But just more than a minute later, Wells found a hole on the left side of his offensive line and took the ball 77 yards for the score with 7:16 remaining in the third. He later scored his second touchdown with 36.9 seconds remaining in the third on a fourth-and-1 play, when he scored from the Cougars’ 7-yard line.

ACCS scored to open the first quarter on a 29-yard pass from Stockstill to Parker Rymer with 9:33 to go in the first. Torrey Smith followed up with an 83-yard touchdown carry at the 5:53 mark to give the Rebels an early 14-0 lead.

Central Hinds scored its first touchdown with 3:14 left in the first on a 4-yard carry by Price. With 1:06 remaining in the first, Stockstill again hit Rymer for a touchdown pass, this time from 43 yards, to give ACCS a 21-7 lead after one.

In the second quarter, Zach Young made it 28-7 ACCS on a 4-yard carry with 11:21 remaining. The play was set up by an interception return by Smith, who several plays early took the ball all the way down to the Cougars’ 11-yard line.

With 5:37 to go before halftime, Cougars running back Brian King scored on a 2-yard run, but the extra point attempt was no good, making it 28-13 ACCS. King would finish the game as the Cougars’ leading rusher, with 152 yards on 22 carries.

The Rebels scored once more before halftime on a 20-yard touchdown reception by Trey Fleming with 12.7 seconds left in the half.

Stockstill was 7-for-15 in passing for 190 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He said once he started connecting with his receivers early, the big plays just started coming.

“We just had a lot of momentum going in each play, and it just built up,” Stockstill said. “Everything was just clicking.”

Wells led the Rebels in rushing with 124 yards on nine carries. Smith added 91 yards on nine attempts. Defensively, Brandon Ross and Matthew Rymer continued to lead the charge for the Rebels, tallying 16 and 15 tackles, respectively. Matthew Rymer also had one forced fumble, and Zach Young added 11 tackles.

ACCS (2-0 in district) will face Brookhaven Academy on the road next week to determine the MAIS District 5-AA championship.