MADISON &045; Chad Crosswhite may play baseball when he goes to Mississippi State, but on Friday night he looked like he could also play quarterback for the Bulldogs.

Just ask Adams County Christian School.

In the semifinals of the MPSA Class AAA-Division II playoffs, Crosswhite threw for 246 yards and four touchdown passes to lead the Madison-Ridgeland Academy Patrtiots to a 27-19 win over the Rebels.

Crosswhite threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Jim Owens with 2:54 to go for the game-winning score.

But the Patriots (10-2) had to survive one last try from ACCS (4-8) as the Rebels drove to the Patriot 35-yard line with 2:00 left before two incomplete passes stalled the drive.

MRA got a couple of first downs and then ran out the clock and advance to the state championship game against the Lamar-Clarksdale Lee winner this Friday at 1 p.m. at Mississippi College.

&uot;We liked to have gotten them,&uot; Rebels head coach Keith Walters said. &uot;We had a lot of chances to win the game.&uot;

Crosswhite’s first touchdown pass went 25 yards to Owens with 3:27 to go in the first quarter, but the extra-point attempt by Isaac Blakemore was no good.

ACCS tied the score at 6-6 on a 53-yard touchdown pass from Dustin Case to Ray Simpson with 9:20 remaining in the second quarter.

However, just over a minute later MRA retook the lead on a 63-yard pass from Crosswhite to Phillip Harrison. Blakemore’s extra point was good and the Patriots had a 13-0 lead.

The Rebels then tied the score again, this time at 13-13 on a one-yard run by Case and Timmy Foster’s extra point with 0:24 to go until halftime.

Crosswhite connected with Owens again, this time on a 23-yard pass with 7:04 left in the third quater. Blakemore added the extra point for a 20-13 lead.

ACCS, however, would not go away quietly as the Rebels got a six-yard touchdown run from Luke Ogden with 8:22 to go in the fourth quarter. But Foster’s extra-point attempt was no good as the Patriots clinged to a 20-19 lead.

&uot;Our kids played hard,&uot; Walters said. &uot;We had a good crowd. We just came up a little bit short.&uot;