WOODVILLE &045; With a 4-1 record in District 7-A play this season, Tensas had reason to believe it could do well in the playoffs.

But after Wilkinson County Christian Academy drove down the field on its first possession in Friday’s game, chewing up 86 yards and more than six minutes of clock to score a touchdown, things looked less certain for the Chiefs.

The Chiefs stormed back, scoring two second-half touchdowns and holding the Rams scoreless over the final three quarters for a 13-7 victory.

Thus WCCA’s season is over, and Tensas will advance to the second round of the playoffs.

The Chiefs’ defense, after allowing an early Rams’ touchdown, clamped down on the WCCA offense, holding the Rams scoreless despite giving up yards. The Rams were forced to punt five times in the game to Tensas’ three punts.

When Tyler White stepped in front of a Collin Dor pass and intercepted it with less than a minute to go, all but ending the game, his coach was still a little worried.

&uot;I just thought, ‘Hold on to the ball,’&uot; Tensas head coach Chris Jacobs said. &uot;Just don’t fumble.&uot;

White, who plays quarterback and defensive back for Tensas, was in large part responsible for the Chiefs’ victory. His 66-yard pass to Thomas Crigler set up a set up a short touchdown run, also by White, that gave Tensas a 13-7 lead with 8:50 remaining in the game.

&uot;This means everything to me,&uot; White said. &uot;We played well. Now we’re just going to play whoever we have to play next week.&uot;

Missed opportunities haunted the Rams in the game. WCCA failed to take advantage of three Chiefs’ turnovers, getting no points off those chances. After recovering a Tensas fumble at the WCCA 22-yard line, the Rams drove the length of the field with the clock running down towards halftime.

With first-and-goal

on the 7, the Rams ran three consecutive running plays, getting the ball within inches of the goal line. On fourth down, quarterback Collin Dor faked a handoff, then rolled to his left and threw a pass incomplete at the back of the end zone. WCCA’s inability to score there later proved costly.

&uot;We were facing an explosive team out there,&uot; WCCA head coach Paul Hayles said. &uot;We just missed some opportunities. That non-score before the half really hurt us.&uot;

The Rams also missed a chance to stop Tensas’ first scoring drive.