NATCHEZ &045; Even a meniscus tear wasn’t enough to keep players out of a big game like this.

The District 3-AA championship was on the line with

Adams Christian and Central Hinds battling to see which team won’t likely have to play Oak Forest in the first round of the playoffs. So here was CHA senior back Hollice Maulden out in the first half with a knee injury, but he couldn’t stand it.

Maulden returned in the second half, rumbled to a huge 18-yard run and lit a spark the Cougars’ offense desperately needed. The Cougars seized the momentum, punched in a touchdown to grab the momentum and left 21-7 winners over the Rebels and the district champs.

&uot;I have a torn meniscus in my knee,&uot; said Maulden, who teamed with Jesse Westbrook to rush for 255 yards. &uot;I don’t know how it happened. I came over on the sidelines on a punt return during the beginning of the second quarter. I had adrenaline (in the second half). We were talking about how you can get hurt so easy and how every play could be your last play.

&uot;I was thinking about that, and I wanted that district championship.&uot;

Maulden’s play was one of several in the second where the Cougars didn’t do anything special &045;pounding it up the middle or taking it out on the occasional counter tray. On several occasions the Rebels wrapped up and made big tackles, but other occasions the Cougars found a way to make a big play.

The game was tight for three quarters at 7-7 before the Cougars made enough big plays to break it open.

&uot;It seems to me there were a bunch of critical plays in that game,&uot; Adams head coach Keith Walters said. &uot;I thought our guys played real hard. I told them after the game I was proud of them. What they’ve been through and the adversities we’ve had, I thought they played hard. We just had to play a little better.

&uot;I don’t know if it has anything to do with it or not &045; this was a big stage for them. We might have been a little nervous. For a lot of them, it was the first time to be in this big of a game. It’s like Skip Bertman said &045; you’ve got to get there a couple of times before you win it.&uot;

The Cougars trailed 7-0 at halftime when they came out firing on that first drive. Marred by penalties the first half, the Cougars kept it simple on that first drive. Maulden’s 18-yard run highlighted a 66-yard, eight-play drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown run from Jesse Westbrook.

Give the Rebels credit for bowing up on Central Hinds’ next drive, but the Cougars got a huge break on their next drive on a fourth-and-4 at the AC 33. The Rebels were called for a personal foul that put the ball at the AC 18, and Maulden ran it in for a touchdown on the next play for a 14-7 lead with 9:51 left in the fourth quarter.

&uot;The second play of the second half &045; (Maulden) had come out with an injury, and he went back in there, broke a couple of tackles and had about 15 yards,&uot; Central Hinds head coach Kenny Granberry said. &uot;From there, we had control of the game. I felt like after that we gained the confidence we needed to win the game. Last week we got beat, and it took us back.&uot;

The drive was crucial for the Rebels, who couldn’t get anything going offensively in the second half to answer. The Cougars finished the game with 279 yards on the ground, but none may have been bigger than Maulden’s 18 for the score.

Take away the penalty and get a stop, and there’s no telling what could have happened.

&uot;They didn’t do anything we hadn’t seen,&uot; Walters said. &uot;They just got off the football. I’m not going to say we tackled poorly, but we missed some tackles. Those were some good backs running the ball. I don’t know how many times they made a third-and-5 (situation).&uot;

The Rebels took the early lead in the first half on thanks to their biggest gain of the game &045; a 44-yard pass from Timmy Foster to Ray Simpson to get to the CHA 12. Four plays later Lee Dellinger ran it in from 6 yards out for a 7-0 lead with 6:09 left in the first half.

The Rebels got in scoring position on their next drive when they got down to the CHA 31, but a hold penalty pushed them back before Foster was unsuccessful in a 53-yard field goal try as time expired.

&uot;The first half we felt like we played extremely well,&uot; Granberry said. &uot;We just let them complete that one big pass. The biggest thing that gave us problems was that punter (Foster). Man, was he good.&uot;