MAGEE &8212; There&8217;s solace to be found in knowing the season isn&8217;t over, but can it actually help?

Can losing in the state championship three straight seasons ever be easy to swallow?

Not if you&8217;re human. The Adams Christian Rebels&8217; third straight trip to the state championship series ended with a 6-4 loss to Simpson Academy in Game 2 as the Cougars pulled the sweep and nailed down their third straight title.

But there&8217;s the first MPSA Overall tournament next week. And face it &8212; losing three straight years is tough, but not getting there at all is even tougher to handle.

The Rebels will travel to either Presbyterian Christian or Central Private on Tuesday in Overall.

&8220;It feels like we&8217;re snakebit,&8221; Adams head coach Ron Rushing said. &8220;We&8217;ve been here three years. We can&8217;t get it done. This team, I don&8217;t think a lot of people thought they could get back there. We improved each game this year, and they battled. They did a great job.&8221;

At least the Rebels left the park Thursday knowing they gave their best effort. They fell behind 4-0 after one on Wednesday before the game was halted a half an inning later due to inclement weather.

A day later, they gave Simpson the game they wanted. They trailed 4-1 before the rain came and held a 3-2 advantage after the rain.

&8220;Today they played like they&8217;ve been playing all year,&8221; Rushing said. &8220;They played hard and played a good game. It&8217;s a lot easier to swallow when you play well. We just put ourselves in a hole early and couldn&8217;t get out of it.&8221;

The Rebels got a run in the third, fourth and fifth innings before the Cougars added another in the sixth to put their lead at two. Timmy Foster cranked a solo homer in the third before Eric Perry did the same in the sixth off SA starter Brent Warren.

The Rebels (24-7) had a chance to break it open in the fifth but were able to score only one run. Josh Calcote singled with one out and reached second safely when the Cougars tried to get him on a forceout on a ball hit by Brian Sanderson, and a walk to Luke Brumfield loaded the bases.

Calcote scored on a Cole Bradford sacrifice fly, but Warren got Foster to strike out to end the inning.

Warren went the whole way for the Cougars to get the win. Sanderson did the same for the Rebels and allowed only four hits through five innings following that four-run first.

&8220;(Sanderson) threw one of his best games of the year,&8221; Rushing said. &8220;We carried ourselves a lot better on the field. We had a little fire in us.&8221;