Adams County Christian School was down but never out.

Trailing 1-0 late in the second half, Cristofer Thompson tied the game to force overtime, then came up with a strike in the extra period as ACCS roared to defeat Laurel Christian School 2-1.

“This team has guts, and they want the glory,” ACCS coach Jim Bob Allgood said. “I’m very proud of every kid that stepped on the field for us today.”

The win was perhaps even more impressive for ACCS (9-1, 8-0) as it was without several key players because of illness or injuries, including goalie Yohan Thompson.

“That made several younger guys have to step up today against a very good team,” Allgood said.

Cristofer Thompson’s first score came 74 minutes in after he knocked in an accurately thrown pass from Chris Smotherman.

“He did a really good job of stepping up (fast) and getting their defense off guard,” Cristofer Thompson said. “It was a quick play. Plays like that get us going.”

The junior midfielder put his team ahead in the first minute of overtime after knocking in a through-ball pass from Jason Wesbury.

“He got a perfect kick on the ball,” Cristofer Thompson said. “It was perfect placement. It’s hard to come back when you’re down. You have to keep your head up. We all dug deep and just pulled through as a team.”

The Rebels defense then took care of the rest as it kept the Lions scoreless for the entire second half and overtime.

Goalkeeper Marshall Edmonds recorded six saves, including a win clinching save seven minutes into the extra period.

“That stopped us from going to penalty kicks,” Allgood said. “He saved the game for us.”

Laurel Christian jumped out 1-0 after Wil Estes slipped behind the Rebel defense moments before the end of the first half.

ACCS will begin a challenging week of games Monday when it hosts Brookhaven Academy before traveling to face Delta Charter School later in the day.

The Rebels have another doubleheader slated for Thursday when it travels to face Hillcrest and Madison-Ridgeland academies.

“The more games we play, the more practices we have, we get closer as a team,” Cristofer Thompson said. “We’re clicking better — we’re talking more, we have better chemistry. I believe we’re going to have a really good season. I don’t want to jinx us by saying anything about state, but it’s an option.”