Judging by the way both teams reacted Thursday night at Adams Christian, you may have a hard time figuring out who won.

In the first game of the season for both AC and Centreville Academy, both admitted afterward they made more mistakes than they cared to stand. But the Tigers played well in their 27-14 win and showed signs of why many folks are talking about them as they suit up 15 seniors in the MPSA Class AA ranks.

The Tigers did finish with three turnovers &045; two fumbles and one interception &045; and realize that kind of play won’t allow them to do what they really want to do this fall.

&uot;We had several fumbles,&uot; CA senior back Blake Devall said. &uot;There’s always improvement. We’ve got a lot of work to do. Ball control, I guess you can say. But we got the first one, and we’ve got to keep winning. Our goal is to make it to Clinton.&uot;

That goal, mind you, is the typical one each August down in Centreville where Bill Hurst’s teams have six state championships. The team is also a little extra hungry this fall after missing the playoffs last season for the first time since 1993.

Hurst, too, said the mistakes were evident on Thursday against Adams Christian.

&uot;ACCS did a good job, and they’ve got a good football team,&uot; Hurst said. &uot;It was a good ball game. It could have went either way. Their quarterback was throwing it well. We didn’t put any pressure on the quarterback, and he was doing a good job of getting it to the receivers. They just executed well.&uot;

The Rebels brought out some kinks in the Centreville defense with their pass attack later in the game. Quarterback Timmy Foster engineered a drive in the fourth quarter that was almost all passing as time was winding down with the Tigers holding a two-touchdown lead.

Foster hit Dustin Case on a 15-yard pass, the Tigers were called for pass interference on second and 12 and Foster hit Case on a crucial 10-yard pass on a fourth-and-7 situation at the CA 34.

Foster then hit David Trisler on a 16-yard pass on a third-and-short situation, but the drive ended on a fumble at the 1.

&uot;We came out in the second half and got off to a good start and got right back in it,&uot; Adams head coach Keith Walters said. &uot;We had three turnovers, and that’s too many to beat a team like Centreville. You’ve got to tip your hat to Centreville. They played very well.&uot;

The biggest thorn in the Rebels’ side was on the opposite side of the ball in trying to contain that Centreville ground game. Walters said it was no secret what the Tigers were going to do &045; Hurst has been basing out of the same offense for years &045; but knowing what’s coming and stopping it are two different things.

Devall finished with 142 yards on 30 carries, but that wasn’t the worst part. It was Devall and the offense continuing to pound away at the AC defense while the clock just kept on running.

&uot;Offensively, they played well, I thought,&uot; Walters said. &uot;We put a lot of time in on the sweep. They were in some new formations we hadn’t seen, but we adjusted to that. Devall is a very good athlete. One thing he’s good at is taking a two-yard gain and making it a 5-yard gain. He’s just a good, tough running back.&uot;

Devall and the Tigers’ ground game was enough to send the Rebels back to the drawing board on defense, an area that was a sore spot last season. But give the Tigers credit &045; for a first game, they executed well.

&uot;The line did great, and I compliment the line,&uot; Devall said. &uot;I just caught my second wind in the second half. Halftime was good to me.&uot;

ROTATION &045; Usually when coaches say there will be a rotation at a certain spot, it’s just coach-speak for a decision has yet to be made. But this Friday Natchez High may go with a rotation at quarterback and reap some benefits.

The Bulldogs split time in the two jamboree sessions with sophomore Jason Bruce and senior Riley Trask at quarterback. Trask spent most of the time at quarterback last year and helped spark a drive against Jefferson County that got down to the 1-yard line.

Trask kept things going with his big frame and strong arm, but Bruce was just as effective with his smaller, quicker frame and his ability to also throw the football.

&uot;Both of them are good athletes,&uot; NHS head coach Lance Reed said. &uot;They both do good things back there. With Riley playing both ways, he needs the rest in certain spots.&uot;

PLAY OF THE NIGHT &045; Leave it to Walters to pull out the trick plays in the hopes of finding a spark on offense. With Centreville holding a 21-7 lead at the start of the fourth and the Rebels firing mostly blanks on offense, the head coach gambled.

On the first play of the drive, Foster hit Trisler on a quick 11-yard pass, but Trisler made a quick pitch to Ray Simpson, who sprinted down the sideline to the Centreville 4 for a net gain of 36 yards.

&uot;I never thought that would work,&uot; Walters said. &uot;You’re pretty deep in your playbook when you run that one. Ray hurt his knee. If he would have been healthy, he would have scored.&uot;