Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

FLORA — For the third straight year, Tri-County Academy will be playing for the MAIS Class 4A State Championship after the No. 1 seeded Rebels cruised to a 45-0 win over the fifth-seeded Centreville Academy Tigers last Friday night in a semifinal match-up.

Tri-County Academy senior wide receiver/defensive back Jacob Clearman had himself quite the performance as he had three touchdown receptions and picked off Centreville Academy sophomore quarterback Parker Nettles four times.

Nettles was just 2-for-13 passing for zero yards. One throw went for three yards and the other went for minus-three yards. The Rebels defense held the Tigers to only four first downs and 35 yards of total offense.

Meanwhile, the Rebels’ offense was pretty balanced. Junior running back Rhett Gray led their ground game with three touchdowns as they racked up 220 yards. Junior quarterback Bryce Warriner was very efficient despite not having to throw it much, going six-for-nine for 147 yards and four touchdowns. 

Warriner’s TD passes to Clearman went for 14 yards at the 1:55 mark of the first quarter, 66 yards with 4:55 left in the second quarter, and 15 yards with just 38 seconds to go until halftime to give Tri-County Academy a commanding 32-0 halftime lead.

Gray’s second rushing score of the game went for two yards with 4:28 left in the third quarter for a 38-0 lead and the usage of a running clock for the rest of the game.

Tri-County Academy (11-1) will take on No. 2 seed Bowling Green School at 3 p.m. next Friday at Jackson Academy for the MAIS Class 4A state title. Centreville Academy finished its season with an overall record of 10-3.