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MERIDIAN — Despite out-gaining Lamar School by over 100 yards, Adams County Christian School was done in by turnovers and penalties as the Rebels’ defense of their MAIS Class 5A state championship ended sooner than expected.

With 2:55 to play in the fourth quarter, Sullivan Reed threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Khari Towner and Luke Morrow’s extra point allowed the No. 7 seed Lamar School Raiders to defeat the No. 10 seed ACCS Rebels 21-20 Friday night in the first round of the 2024 MAIS Class 5A State Playoffs.

The Rebels had a balanced offense with 165 total rushing yards and 192 passing yards for a total of 357 yards. They held the Raiders to just 73 yards on the ground and 247 yards of total offense.

But Reed was efficient throwing the ball, completing 12 of 17 passes. He also threw a touchdown pass to Jalin Trotter late in the first quarter that gave Lamar School (7-4) a 14-6 lead.

ACCS senior quarterback Coleman Carter accounted for all three of the Rebels’ touchdowns. He had touchdown runs of 18 and 23 yards. He also threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to CJ Ferguson late in the second quarter to make it a 14-12 game at halftime.

Carter’s 23-yard TD run at the 7:37 mark of the third quarter and Cedric Owens’ two-point conversion run gave the Rebels a 20-14 lead. But what also cost the Rebels was that they tried for two other two-point conversions instead of the extra point off the foot of Caleb Daugherty.

The Rebels turned the ball over three times while the Raiders only turned it over once. ACCS was also done in by 11 accepted penalties for 95 yards.

Carter completed seven of 11 passes for 192 yards with one interception. He also had 18 carries for 102 yards. Adrian Walker had 10 carries for 62 yards, two catches for 30 yards, and had one fumble recovery on defense. Cedric Owens had one catch for 58 yards.

Defensively, the Rebels were led by AJ Givens with seven tackles while Sean Kerry Cothern had six tackles. Riley Roach and Kentrell Stampley had four tackles each.

ACCS finished its season with an overall record of 8-4.