NATCHEZ — Adams County Christian School made a statement against Wilkinson County Christian Academy in their season opener Friday with a resounding 40-10 victory.

Despite committing 15 penalties throughout the night, the Rebels played solid defense, allowing WCCA only 76 total yards.

ACCS head coach David King said the penalties showed where his team lacks discipline, and he looks to work on it as the season continues.

“We were extremely sloppy with a lot of penalties, but that is to be expected early in the season,” David King. “Everything we did out there is correctable.”

Lester Wells and Torrey Smith both ran the ball well for ACCS. Smith rushing for 106 yards with a touchdown, and Wells accounted for one touchdown with 45 yards.

King said Trey Fleming and Chisum Mardis also contributed well on offense for the Rebels. Fleming completed 102 yards for the Rebels, while Mardis added 65 yards.

“We had several running backs, and we always had a fresh back on the field,” King said. “I like how those guys feed off each other. I thought all four of the guys ran hard. We missed a lot of big plays in the passing game, but that’s to be expected early this year.”

The Rebels scored their first touchdown just six minutes into the game as Mardis rushed for 19 yards. ACCS went for the two-point conversion as Tyler Stockstill connected with Trey Fleming to give the Rebels an early 8-0 lead.

At the 2:45 mark of the first quarter, Smith extended the Rebels lead with a 43-yard touchdown. This time, the two-point conversion was no good as ACCS ended the first quarter up 14-0.

WCCA saw an offensive spark in the second quarter when kicker Reed Sturgeon scored a field goal to bring the Rams within 11 with 6:19 left in the half.

Carlos Woods entered at quarterback for ACCS and completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Parker Rymer with 4:11 on the clock. The two-point conversion was no good.

King said he felt Stockstill and Woods did well at the quarterback position in their first game of the season.

“Tyler’s a leader, and I threw a lot at him,” King said. “He missed a couple touchdowns, but he also made a couple of very nice throws. He and Carlos (Woods) will be fine.”

With 1:20 to go in the second quarter, Fleming took over at quarterback and rushed for a 63-yard touchdown to extend their lead 26-3 at the half.

In the third, WCCA quarterback Jalen Washington brought some life to the Rams’ offense as he rushed for a 16-yard touchdown.

WCCA head coach David Wright said he was proud of Washinton’s hustle Friday.

“Hats off to (Washington) rising to the occasion and seeing the daylight and taking it,” Wright said. “He took some hard hits and just got back up. I’m proud of his heart and his competitive greatness.”

Sturgeon’s extra-point kick was good as the Rams inched within 15 with 7:33 on the clock.

But Fleming stormed back into the end zone for ACCS on a 20-yard drive that would extend the Rebels back into a comfortable lead.

The two-point attempt was good as Fleming completed a pass to Stockstill, ending the third quarter with a 34-10 lead.

The Rams failed to score in the fourth quarter, but ACCS had a little more gas left in them as Wells scored the Rebels final touchdown on a 6-yard rush.

King said his players came out with the win because of their depth.

“I thought we played aggressively and we threw some numbers at them,” he said. “We had a lot of kids play a lot of positions and I think that kind of wore (WCCA) down.”

Wright said they fought through a lot of injuries, and that alone showed him great things about his team’s character.

“We had a lot of adversity throughout the game that we had to face,” Wright said. “We took some bumps and bruises and we missed some tackles, but we kept fighting throughout the game. I’m just proud of my boys for not giving up and staying focused in the game.”

Adams County Christian School will return to the field Friday against River oaks Academy, while Wilkinson County Christian Academy will head to Tri-County Academy.