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NATCHEZ — Adams County Christian School opened up their military appreciation game with a 33-yard rush by JJ Clairborne just 26 seconds into the game and never looked back. The Rebels gained 422 total yards in their 54-18 win over Clinton Christian Academy on Military Appreciation Night.

Freshman quarterback Coleman Carter had a four-yard rush to extend the Rebels lead to 14-0. Less than two minutes later, Carter threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Kaho Jr. Dantavious Stampley extended the Rebels lead with a one-yard touchdown run. Clinton Christian got on the board with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Cooper Loftin to Joe Thomas. They trialed 28-6 with 3:16 left in the first quarter.

With less than a minute left in the first quarter, Coleman Carter rolled out to his left and found his good friend Samuel Merriett wide open in the back of the endzone for a 17-yard touchdown pass. The score extended the Rebels lead to 35-6 at the end of the first quarter.

“I just saw my buddy was in trouble, and I thought I would help him out,” Merriett said. “He is my best friend from church. We have known each other for a long time. It makes it so much more fun to catch a pass from a friend. It feels great catching a touchdown pass from a guy I have known for a while, rather than if I had caught one from a stranger.”

Carter had the same scenario play out in the second quarter when he completed a 17-yard pass to Colin Cauthen to give the Rebels a 42-6 lead. Clinton Christian answered as Loftin drove the field and delivered an 8-yard TD pass to Jakevion Jones.

Tiqi Griffin muffed the initial kickoff but used his speed on the return to get to the outside. At midfield, he had an empty field in front of him as he raced 85-yards to the end zone giving AC a 48-12 lead. ACCS took a knee instead of going for two or kicking the extra point.

The Warriors answered with a 61 yard rush by Carter Wilson to make it 48-18. Rebels senior Conor Aplin responded with a long rushing touchdown of his own. He raced 56 yards to score the last touchdown of the game as AC won 54-18.

Carter was perfect through the air as he completed 12 out of 12 passes for 189 yards and 3 touchdowns. He had 4 rushes for 40 yards and a rushing touchdown. In total, he had 229 yards and four touchdowns.

Aplin had two rushes for 94 yards and a touchdown. Claiborne had 68 rushing yards and a touchdown. Receiving Cauthen had three catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. Kaho had 3 catches for 68 yards and a touchdown. Samuel Merriett had 2 catches for 26 yards and a touchdown. He said he channeled the crowd’s energy to chest bump Griffin after his touchdown.

“It’s just the adrenaline, and the fans are cheering,” Merriett said. “It gets you pumped up.”