Adams County Christian School had been piling points up in bunches in recent outings, tallying at least 28 points in each of its previous contests.

The Rebels kept that streak alive Friday night.

Led by a stingy defense and an explosive fourth quarter, ACCS raced past MAIS and cross-town rival Cathedral High School 34-0.

“I have to give it to Cathedral, they came out and had us schemed well,” ACCS coach David King said. “They outplayed us in the first half. We preached that we had to be the more physical team in the second half, and we were. But their coaching staff had them ready to play.”

ACCS was led by dynamic junior running back DyKevis Ford, who tallied 129 yards and two long touchdown runs. The Rebels also received scoring runs from Cade Wells, George Scott III and MJ Thornburg, who capped off the scoring with a late 40-yard scamper.

“That’s all (Thornburg) wanted to do, he wanted to run the ball and score,” Ford said. “He said it to me, ‘I’m going to be just like you, I’m going to score.’”

The Rebels (6-2, 3-0) defensive front of Cole Gatlin, Chris Sikes, Chris Smotherman and others gave Cathedral fits all game long. The trio combined to tally five sacks in the game.
“I thought in the second half, our seniors said it’s time to take care of business,” King said. “It was a well played second half by us.”

ACCS outgained Cathedral 383-94 yards for the game. The Rebels tallied 339 yards rushing. ACCS led at the half 14-0

Cathedral (3-4, 1-2) pieced together a pair of long drives, including getting inside the ACCS in the final moments of the first half, but were kept out of the end zone.

“We just weren’t able to finish drives offensively, and that’s been the story of our season,” Cathedral coach Chuck Darbonne said.

The Greenwave defense tallied three takeaways, while the Rebels forced one turnover.

“Defensively, we put ourselves in great position,” Darbonne said. “We got some turnovers, and offensively we haven’t been able to cash in on those opportunities. We have mental mistakes in key situations that keeps us from being an elite offensive team.”

A botched handoff between Cathedral quarterback Ben Foster and Owen Thibodeaux on its first play from scrimmage set up the game’s first score.

ACCS quickly took advantage, scoring two plays later after Wells dashed around the left end and in for an 11-yard rushing score.

ACCS held its touchdown advantage until midway through the second quarter when Ford dazzled with a 64-yard touchdown runner.

The junior running back dashed through the center of the Greenwave, broke to the outside and outran the rest of the defenders for the electrifying score.

“It was cool playing in this game,” Ford said. “We were sluggish in the first half, but we came out better in the second. We stay humbled, had less penalties and fumbles. I’m very proud of my team.”

Cathedral will look to get back on track next week when it travels to Centreville Academy.
With the win, ACCS has now won six straight and will attempt to make it seven in a row when it travels to East Rankin Academy.

“We are very close (to playing at a high level),” King said. “But that means nothing. Close means you’re not there, and we want to be there.”