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BROOKHAVEN — After suffering an ankle injury in a recent win over Simpson Academy, questions loomed over whether Adams County Christian School senior quarterback Coleman Carter would play in last Friday night’s game at Brookhaven Academy.

Well, not only did Carter play, but he also started under center for the ACCS Rebels and led three touchdown drives as they defeated the Brookhaven Academy Cougars 21-0 in what was the Rebels’ MAIS District 3-5A opener.

While the offense struggled at times to move the ball, especially in the first quarter, the defense played without a doubt its best performance of the season. ACCS held Brookhaven Academy (1-4, 0-2) to 75 rushing yards and only 91 yards of total offense.

“Our defense was outstanding,” Rebels assistant coach Bill James said. “It was an outstanding game by our defense. Special teams played well. Sean Kerry (Cothern) flipped the field three times with his long, booming punts.”

Carter completed 15 of 21 passes for 164 yards and extended his touchdown-passing streak this season to five in a row thanks to a 30-yard TD strike to Colton Rabb with 10:14 left in the game. But trying to run on a heavily-wrapped left ankle led him being sacked a few times by the Cougars’ defense.

“On offense, we didn’t get to practice much this week (because of the inclement weather). He played well. There were some bright spots. We lined up and ran right at them. We got out of the game with no serious injuries,” James said.

Two of those bright spots on offense were Cothern, who finished with 62 yards on nine carries, and Adrian Walker, who had 11 carries for 98 yards and one touchdown. Cothern’s four-yard TD run finally broke a scoreless game with 3:54 to go until halftime. Walker scored on a nine-yard run with 7:29 left in the third quarter.

Defensively, Braden Poole led the Rebels with 10 tackles. Six different players had four tackles each. Among them were Cothern and Tristan Burns, who also had an interception.

ACCS finished with 234 rushing yards and 398 yards of total offense to go with 16 first downs. Brookhaven Academy, on the other hand, had just four first downs and punted seven times.

“They didn’t cross midfield very much,” James said. “We look forward to a good week of practice next week to get ready for Oak Forest.”

ACCS (4-1, 1-0) plays host to Oak Forest Academy at Bobby Marks Stadium in a key District 3-5A game for both teams at 7 p.m. Friday.