NATCHEZ — Adams County Christian School head coach David King called Friday night’s matchup with Indianola Academy in the MAIS AA semifinals the biggest home game in school history.

Now, the Rebels have one of the biggest wins in school history after taking down the Colonels 50-30, and earning a spot in the state championship game.

“I’m just so proud of my school and my team,” King said. “When (ACCS) hired me, they believed in me, and it’s good to produce what you were brought in to do. It’s not just the football game, it is the atmosphere of this place. The football game is just one little slice of how these people feel now about the pride in this school.”

ACCS was able to jump out to an early lead, scoring on their first drive of the game as Trey Fleming scampered into the end zone from 26 yards out to give the Rebels a 6-0 lead.

Indianola Academy was able to cut the lead in half with a 35-yard field goal later in the quarter.

ACCS answered when Torrey Smith rumbled in from one yard out on the first play of the second quarter to give ACCS a 14-3 lead.

Then, on the next ACCS drive, Smith found the end zone again, this time from 31 yards out to push the lead to 20-3.

But the scrappy Colonels refused to go down. On the ensuing drive, Jeremy Whitfield scored on a 7-yard run to put Indianola Academy within striking range at 20-10.

Then, after blocking an ACCS punt, Indianola Academy found the end zone on a 1-yard run from Wheeler Timbs to bring the Colonels within three at 20-17 with just 45 seconds left in the first half.

But for the fast-paced ACCS offense, that was plenty of time.

After driving down the field to the Colonel’s 34-yard line, quarterback Carlos Woods connected with wide receiver Parker Rymer who caught a pass over a jumping defender’s head for a touchdown as the clock expired.

“It was just a throw up for grabs,” Rymer said. “We practice it every day. My instincts just took over, and I went and got the ball. I knew I had to make a big play for the team.”

ACCS took a 28-17 lead into the locker room, and Stevan Ridley, running back for the New England Patriots and a product of King while he was head coach at Trinity Episcopal, spoke with the team at halftime, hoping to rally the troops on their quest for state.

“I just told them to finish what they started,” Ridley said. “It does no good to start a ballgame if you don’t finish it. For them, that was the biggest message, to go out there and depend on your teammates and get to the championship. That is something that you will never forget.”

The Rebels came out in the second half firing and were able to score on their first drive with Woods finding Fleming on a 17-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 36-17.

Smith scored his third touchdown of the night on the next drive from 19-yards out. Wells would cap the scoring for the Rebels early in the fourth on a 3-yard touchdown run to seal the win for ACCS.

Now, ACCS turns their attention to Centreville Academy, the only team this season to take them down. Centreville won 56-44 at home in the third week of the season.

“We owe them a lot,” Fleming said. “We are coming at them this time, extra hard.”

ACCS and Centreville will meet in the MAIS AA State Championship game at Mississippi College in Clinton.