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NATCHEZ — The Adams County Christian School Rebels are one win from taking the MAIS District 3-5A championship all for themselves. Only the winless Central Hinds Academy Cougars stand in their way.

Coming off an impressive 35-12 win at Centreville Academy to improve to 7-2 overall, ACCS plays host to Central Hinds Academy Friday at 7 p.m. for Senior Night at Bobby Marks Stadium. The Rebels already have the tiebreaker over Copiah Academy after they defeated the Colonels 43-27 back on Sept. 18.

“We’ve got 12 seniors that will be recognized before the game,” ACCS head coach David King said. “Senior night is a special night for the players, the cheerleaders, the dance team. We want to go into the playoffs on a high note.

Yet a win over Central Hinds would give the Rebels the outright district championship and a high seed in the upcoming Class 5A State Playoffs.

“We’ve improved on our mental mistakes the last three weeks. I’ve been proud of our seniors for keeping it together. I’ve been proud of the way our kids have stuck together through this,” King said. While the Rebels are 3-0 in district play, the Cougars are 0-9 overall and 0-3 in district play. All three district losses are forfeit losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including last week’s scheduled home game against Silliman Institute.

“They’ve had a rough time with the COVID issue. They’ve had to shut their program twice. It’s been unfortunate for them. We feel badly for them and their players,” King said. “They’ve had to stop play twice. Everything is so uneasy. Football is so important to these kids.”

ACCS had tremendous success running the ball against Centreville. The Rebels racked up 440 yards on the ground. Corey Sewell had 177 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Tripp Cotten had 109 yards and one touchdown on just two carries. Claven Dunbar had 95 yards and one touchdown on eight carries.

Defensively, Dantavious Stampley had a team-high five tackles, Sewell had half a sack, and Decobus Jackson and Josh Credit each had an interception to lead the Rebels’ defense. If there is one thing they need to clean up is the penalties. ACCS was penalized 10 times for 100 yards last week.

“We’re still like everybody. We’re trying to overcome injuries late in the (season). It’s been an unusual game. We still feel like we’ve got some good football ahead of us,” King said. “We always want to finish the season stronger than we start it. This season is no exception. We still have some things to improve on.”

Standouts to watch for for ACCS are the seniors. “I want them to go out on a bang. I don’t want to single anyone out. I want to preach the team,” King said. “We’ve played five games where the seniors never got on the field. We want the seniors to have a good senior night. We’re still four or five players who are seniors down. Hopefully, they’ll be back for the playoffs.”