FLORA – The The Tri-County Academy Rebels shut out Huntington Friday night, a week after the Hounds earned a spot in the Mississippi Private School Association’s Academy A playoffs.

&uot;They had too much horsepower for us,&uot; said Huntington head coach Gerald Reeves after the 28-0 game. &uot;We couldn’t do anything with them.&uot;

Huntington had two scoring opportunities in the game, the first of which came near the end of the first half.

The Hounds put together a 14-play drive that ground out 60 yards to the Rebels’ 5-yard-line. However, a pass from Barrett Arthur to Will Moak fell incomplete on fourth and goal.

The other near miss came with a minute left in the third quarter, when the Hounds came up 6 inches short on fourth and 4 and the 12-yard line.

&uot;Our defense saved our bacon the whole first half,&uot; said Tri-County head coach Bo Milton. &uot;We kept giving them chances to get back in the game, but you have to give them credit for doing the things they needed to do and stay in there.&uot;

Tri-County senior Chris Queen also praised the Rebels’ defense.

&uot;The defense won the game,&uot; he said. &uot;They played good and hung in there all game.&uot;

The beginning of the night looked promising as Huntington kicked off to open the game. Three plays later, Matt Burton fumbled a handoff from Bo Fisher. Lee Tarver recovered for the Hounds at their own 28.

Arthur then lost the handle on the snap on first down and Jarrad Creel fell on the loose ball for the Rebels.

Six plays later, Fisher capped a six-play, 49-yard drive with an 8-yard run. Matt Towne booted the point after an early 7-0 Tri-County lead.

On the first play of the second quarter, Toby Wilson looked for Patrick Clayton on a third-and-12 play. Tri-County’s Sam Barner stepped in front of Clayton and picked the pass out of the air, racing 50 yards to score the second touchdown of the night. Towne added the point after and the Rebels led 14-0.

On the ensuing kickoff, Arthur took the kick and raced from his own 10-yard line to the Rebels 36. Four plays later, facing fourth and 4, Wilson threw incomplete to Arthur.

&uot;This was a hard-hitting game,&uot; Wilson said later. &uot;We just had too many turnovers and their defense was real good.&uot;

The Rebels took over the ball and Fisher threw an incomplete on first down to Michael Saxton. On second down, Jeff Johnson, who rushed for a game high 176 yards on 20 carries, got 70 yards on a dive play up the middle and a score for Tri-County. Towne booted his third pat for a 21-0 halftime lead.

&uot;I never dreamed I would score on that play but the blocking was great and the hole was just wide open,&uot; Johnson said.

Fisher, who completed two of four passes for 36 yards, said after the game he knew the Hounds would be a good physical team.

&uot;They were a very good football team, ran the ball hard; we just overpowered them,&uot; he said.

The Rebels added one final score with 2:09 left in the game as Josh Broome scored from 5 yards out. Towne’s fourth kick made it 28-0.

&uot;Our defense played great the whole game,&uot; Milton said. &uot;Anytime you shut a playoff opponent out, that’s special. Coach (Joe) Goolsby has them ready to go every week.&uot;

Next week Tri-County will host Briarfield Academy, 25-21 winners over Mount Olive Friday night.