NATCHEZ — The Adams County Christian School Rebels knocked the monkey off their back with a 51-26 win against Centreville Academy in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools AAA first round playoff game.

With three of the Rebels’ last four losses in almost 40 games coming to the Tigers, reversing their fortune was a must, not only to break the streak, but to also continue their season.

“Anytime you beat Centreville in the playoffs, it shows you are maturing as a program,” ACCS head coach David King said. “We were able to take care of home field advantage which is big. I was pleased to get the win, and Centreville played hard, as I knew they would.”

ACCS took control of the game early and would never trail.

Jordan Wells got the scoring started on a 1-yard touchdown run, which was set up by a 50-yard pass from Carlos Woods to Sam Butler.

After Shavarick Williams blocked a punt on the ensuing Centreville drive, the Rebels took over with great field position at the Tiger 25 yard line.

Woods would find George Scott later in the drive for a 9-yard touchdown to push the Rebel lead to 14-0.

Less than a minute later, ACCS was in the end zone again, this time on a 36-yard interception return for a touchdown by Butler.

Centreville botched another punt attempt on the next drive and Williams came up with a fumble recovery at the 10-yard line. Three plays later, Chisum Mardis rumbled into the end zone to give the Rebels a commanding 28-0 lead.

Despite the large deficit, the Tigers refused to quit.

Centreville mounted a 10-play, 69 yard drive, which was capped by a 16-yard touchdown run by Tyler Caston, giving the Tigers some life.

“Our kids could have quit, but they fought hard and that is what it is all about,” Centreville head coach Bill Hurst said. “We had some miscues, but don’t take anything away from (ACCS), they’ve got a good football team that made us make some of those mistakes.”

ACCS’ Richard Conn took over in the second quarter with two touchdown catches. First, a 35-yarder from Woods to give ACCS a 35-6 lead.

“They were on top of George because they thought he was going to get the ball,” Conn said. “I just kind of slipped through an open hole, caught it and scored.”

Caston answered, though, with his second rushing touchdown of the night, this time from a yard out, keeping Centreville in the game.

The Tigers struck again after ACCS fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Centreville recovered. Caston reeled in a jump-ball against Conn in the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown making the score 35-18.

But three plays later, Conn was streaking down the field with the football on a 70-yard touchdown reception.

“I was just gettin’ it man,” Conn said.

Conn made his only catches of the game count, with both going for touchdowns.

The pass was also the last Woods would throw in the game. He finished 5-of-7 for 168 yards and three touchdowns.

“I had been preaching to Richard that he has to step up because he is good enough to be a big time receiver in this league,” King said. “Finally, he started to catch some nice throws from Carlos.”

With a healthy 42-18 lead at halftime, many backups for ACCS got action.

For Centreville, Caston continued to pound the rock. He scored his final touchdown of the night on a three-yard run late in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to dig the Tigers out of the hole.

Caston finished the game with 27 carries for 152 yards and three touchdowns.

“He’s just that type of kid that gives you everything he’s got every day,” Hurst said. “There is a lot to be said for his leadership.”

ACCS capped the scoring on the last play from scrimmage on a 67-yard run from Devin Gray.

The Rebels held a potent Centreville rushing attack to just 179 yards, and King said he was happy to see his team accept the challenge of being physical.

“They played the first two drives of the second half like we’ve been telling them to, and that was nice to see,” King said.

The Rebels will now face Leake Academy, who took down Greenville St. Joseph, 19-18, and once again, ACCS will have the home field advantage.

“I’ve heard that AC is in the easier bracket, but when you earn the No. 1 seed, you’re supposed to be in the easier bracket,” King said. “The bottom line is, we earned it the hard way. We had about six battles this year that got us there. But when you look at it, everybody is good. If you play weak, you’re going to get your butt kicked.”

As for Centreville, Hurst believes he and his team played one of the best in the state Friday.

“They sure can win state,” Hurst said. “They’ve got the talent to win and the coaching staff. They just have to listen to them.”