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FRANKLINTON, La. — Adams County Christian School quarterback Coleman Carter threw two touchdown passes and ran for another while Sean Kerry Cothern ran for three touchdowns as the Rebels defeated the Bowling Green School Buccaneers 48-28 last Friday night.

In a battle between defending MAIS Class 5A state champion ACCS and Class 4A state runner-up Bowling Green, the Rebels got off to a quick start offensively as Carter threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Owens at the 9:44 mark of the first quarter and Cothern scored on a 1-yard run with 7:23 to go in the quarter to go up 13-0.

Then with 9:11 remaining in the second quarter, Owens scored on a 77-yard fumble return. Caleb Daugherty’s extra point made it a 20-0 game. Carter connected with Colton Rabb on a 24-yard TD pass with 2:20 left until halftime to give ACCS a 27-0 lead.

“The first part of the game, we were clicking on all cylinders. Then we got a little sloppy. We need to work on conditioning, getting in shape,” Rebels assistant coach Matthew Freeman said.

Bowling Green finally got on the scoreboard with 1:00 left until the half when Jesse Gaines scored on a 10-yard run. Alex Brock’s PAT made the score 27-7 at the break.

The Buccaneers recovered the ensuing kickoff to start the second half to give them some much-needed momentum. With 7:33 to go in the third quarter, Preston Jarrell scored on a 1-yard run and just like that the Rebels’ lead was now just 27-14.

However, ACCS overcame that bit of adversity with two touchdowns of its own in the third quarter. Carter scored on a 1-yard run with 5:22 to go and Cothern added a 4-yard TD run at the 2:02 mark that gave the Rebels what should have been a commanding 41-14 lead.

But the Buccaneers would not go away quietly and made sure that Rebels head coach David King would not allow some of his younger players to get some playing time.

Bubby Bryant scored on an 18-yard run with 11:55 left in the fourth quarter. Then the Rebels tried to run out the clock, but a high snap went over Carter’s head and he could not fall down on the ball. But the Buccaneers’ Camrin Seal picked up the loose ball and returned in 45 yards for a score to make it a 41-28 game.

The Rebels finally put the game away on Cothern’s 20-yard touchdown run with 2:49 remaining in the contest. Cothern had 10 carries for 62 yards and Carter had eight carries for 60 yards to lead their running game.

“He (Cothern) went in the gym this summer and he put on about 15 pounds. He’s a load back there,” Freeman said. “Offensive line blocked well and opened up some big holes.”

Carter completed 13 of 20 passes for 153 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

“He had a good first game of the season. He took control of the offense. Had a lot of guys step up and make some catches,” Freeman said.

Owens had four catches for 45 yards and one touchdown while Tristan Burns had four receptions for 30 yards and Rabb had two catches for 35 yards and one TD.

Defensively, the Rebels had four players with seven tackles each — Kentrell Stampley, Braden Poole, Cothern, and Alex Pollard. Stampley also had one fumble recovery and one sack while Pollard had one fumble recovery.

Even though the Buccaneers had 212 rushing yards and 13 first downs, they also turned the ball over six times — four fumbles and two interceptions.

“Defense played well. Defense made some big plays,” Freeman said. “They ran a triple-option offense. It was a physical game. They didn’t throw it with success.”

ACCS (1-0) plays host to St. Aloysius High School next Friday with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.