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COUSHATTA, La. — Wilkinson County Christian Academy was narrowly leading Riverdale Academy at halftime and needed a big play to turn the momentum back on its side.

That big play was a safety from the Rams’ defense when junior linebacker Tucker Freeman sacked Riverdale junior quarterback Tanner Carlisle in the end zone at the 3:29 mark of the third quarter.

From that point, the WCCA Rams dominated the second half en route 58-28 win over the Riverdale Academy Rebels and the outright MAIS 8-Man District 3-1A championship by going undefeated in district play.

“Feels real good, especially after last year at this time, to win the district championship,” Rams head coach Randy Holloway said. “We started quick. Had a couple of turnovers that gave Riverdale the momentum going into halftime.”

Rams senior quarterback Jacob Sessions had a pair of four-yard touchdown runs to go along with a 19-yard TD pass to Charles Grezaffi in the first quarter and a 21-yard TD pass to Cole Partridge in the second quarter that helped give them a 26-8 lead.

But in the final 38 second of the first half, Riverdale Academy (2-6, 1-1) scored on a 20-yard run by Kaidyn Williams, his second of the game, and a 78-yard pass from Carlisle to Williams to make it a 26-22 game.

“Coach Kyle White, our defensive coordinator, he made some adjustments at halftime. Kudos to coach White and the defense for a great second half,” Holloway said. “I can’t say enough about the defense. Once we seized the momentum, we never gave it up.”

Just over a minute after that game-changing safety, WCCA scored on a four-yard run by Sessions and a 47-yard run by Napoleon Howard to give the Rams a 44-22 lead. Carlisle returned the ensuing kickoff after Howard’s score 56 yards for a touchdown to make it a 44-28 game.

Easton Buteaux scored on a one-yard pass from Sessions to give WCCA a 52-28 lead with 7:00 left in the game and Partridge scored on a five-yard run at the 4:46 mark. The Rams had a true balanced offense with 166 total rushing yards and Sessions completing 10 of 13 passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns.

“Our offense was explosive. When you have the weapons we have, you’re strong,” Holloway said. “We were very balanced tonight.”

Howard had nine carries for 122 yards while Sessions had 12 carries for 55 yards. Buteaux had five receptions for 83 yards and Grezaffi had two catches for 35 yards to go with four carries for 25 yards. Partridge had two carries for 45 yards as well as two catches for 27 yards.

Freeman led the defense with 13 tackles and two sacks while Jonathan Meredith had 12 tackles and a pair of sacks. Grezaffi added 11 tackles and one sack.

WCCA (7-2, 3-0) hosts Porter’s Chapel Academy for not only Senior Night but also the Pink Out Game next Friday at 7 p.m.