NATCHEZ — Both Adams County Christian School and St. Aloysius played for a state championship last season. But the Rebels and Flashes season’s are nearly polar opposites in 2015.

ACCS enters tonight’s matchup at 5-0, while the Flashes are coming off their first win of the season to move to 1-4.

Despite the differences, ACCS head coach David King isn’t taking St. Al lightly.

“I see a team that plays really hard,” King said. “I know they had several key kids that graduated last year. This is a road ball game and those kids know how to win. I think that record might be deceiving.”

St. Al is in its inaugural season in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools after making a move from the Mississippi High School Activities Association, rushed for 377 yards last week in its win against Hartfield Academy, and King said he expects a heavy dose of running as well.

“I think they want to manage the clock and they have a couple of big linemen that match up well with our linemen,” he said. “I think that will probably be their game plan.”

But with a solid linebacker corp, the Rebels are up for the challenge.

“If they do try and run, I think our defense can stop it,” ACCS middle linebacker Chris Smotherman said.

Smotherman said when a team tries to run against the Rebel defense, he takes it as a personal challenge.

“When people try to run the ball, it is my job to try and stop it more than anything,” he said.

For ACCS, players are excited to get a crack at a new team in the association.

“It is really exciting,” ACCS’ Sam Butler said. “The cross-town team beat them in the state championship last year, so we are looking forward to playing them.”

In the Rebels’ most recent win, a 45-0 blowout against Brookhaven Academy, a balanced offense stole the show. ACCS racked up more than 350 total yards with more than 150 yards each on the ground and through the air.

“We had five different kids score and we want to do that to make it harder for teams to scout,” King said. “We’ve got several guys that we think can do something with the ball when they get it.”

Quarterback Carlos Woods, who tossed four touchdown passes on just eight pass attempts last week, was a major contributor to the numbers.

“Experience is such a key in high school quarterbacking,” King said. “He’s got all those games under his belt and he played for a state championship himself, so he’s been in that pressure cooker. He’s very good at rolling out and throwing the ball on the run, but has the ability to run. He is a tough matchup.”

The Rebels and Flashes are scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.