LIBERTY — Wilkinson County Christian Academy hasn’t played in a meaningful game since the end of the 2012 season when the Rams played for the then-MAIS Class A state championship.

On Friday night, the WCCA Rams moved even closer to winning the District 5-AA championship after taking care of a good Amite School Center Rebels team 38-18 Friday night.

“We played hard. Amite is a real physical team and we matched it,” Rams head coach Christopher McGraw said. “Every back I had carried the ball as hard as I’ve seen them all year.”

The Rams scored on offense and defense in the first half en route to a 22-2 halftime lead. Steven Franks scored on a 21-yard run and Caleb Poole threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Phillip Cutrer in the first quarter. A tackles of Rebels running back David Leyendecker by the defense in the end zone resulted in a safety and Poole threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Cutrer as time expired in the first half.

Amite School Center’s only points came on a safety. After WCCA was backed up because of a few penalties, a bad snap went through the end zone, giving the Rebels two points.

“Defense didn’t do bad. We only gave up 18 points. We got after the quarterback,” McGraw said.

In the third quarter, Davin Booty scored on a three-yard run and added the two-point conversion run to make it a 22-10 game with 9:18 to go in the third quarter. Poole responded with a three-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion run of his own to give the Rams a 30-10 lead with 5:05 to go in that quarter.

Booty threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Brady Milton and ran in for the two-point conversion yet again, cutting the lead to 30-18 with 8:14 left in the fourth quarter.

But once again, WCCA would have an answer. Franks scored on a two-yard run and added the two-point conversion for a 38-18 lead with 2:35 left in the game.

Poole completed four of 11 passes for 109 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He also had 20 carries for 103 yards and one touchdown. Cutrer had three catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns.

“Poole’s been at quarterback the last four weeks. Tonight we had to throw the ball more because they were loading up the box,” McGraw said. “He missed a few passes early, but that was because of nerves. But he settled down.”

WCCA (7-2, 2-0) plays host to Trinity Episcopal for Senior Night with the district championship on the line for both teams.