GALLMAN &045; With first place in MPSA District 3-AA on the line, Timmy Foster’s eight-yard pass to Matt Barnes in the third quarter proved to be huge.

That and a defensive stand late in the game after a questionable pass interference penalty negated what would have been an interception as the Adams Christian Rebels defeated the Copiah Academy Colonels 9-8 Friday.

&uot;The kids played with heart,&uot; Rebels head coach Bobby Marks said. &uot;The fourth quarter, we played defense as good as we could.&uot;

After the pass interference penalty, Adams Christian forced Copiah to turn the ball over on downs and the Rebels ran out the clock.

Adams Christian moved into sole possession of first place in 3-AA with a 2-0 district mark and improved to 5-0 overall.

But not without a price.

&uot;We lost another starter, Brock Vines, with a broken ankle,&uot; Marks said. We were moving the ball well in the T-formation. The first series of the third quarter, Brock broke his ankle.&uot;

Cole Bradford returned to the lineup for Adams Christian. He played at safety on defense, but only played two plays on offense.

Copiah (4-1, 1-1), scored first on a safety when Foster was sacked in the end zone just past the midway mark of the first quarter. Foster then gave the Rebels a 3-2 lead late in the quarter with a 42-yard field goal.

The Colonels retook the lead with 4:23 to go in the second quarter when Daniel Sims scored on a 12-yard run.

The Rebels then took the lead on what turned out to the winning touchdown on Foster’s pass to Barnes with 6:48 to go in the third quarter.

&uot;Copiah’s got a tough defense,&uot; Marks said. &uot;That was a good team we beat tonight.&uot;