Prentiss Christian traveled west to Natchez Friday night to play the Rebels of Adams County. It seems odd to play a conference opponent in the 1st round, but the top 16 structure of the MAIS playoff bracket goes only by ranking. ACCS was the top team in district 5AA and PCS was district runner up. The Saints won the opening toss and elected to receive.
The Rebels kicked off into the end zone forcing a touchback and giving the Saints possession on the PCS 20 yard line. The Saints put together a couple of short runs to get the ball out to the 27, but a false start forced a 4th and 8. Blake Greenlee was called upon to punt. His punt traveled 29 yards with no return by the Rebels. The Rebels came out in their wide-open spread offense as expected completing a deep pass on 1st down.
However, on the next play Michael Johnson and Michael Goddard teamed up to cause a fumble and a recovery for PCS on the 15-yard line. The Saints again tried to establish the run, but without success. Greenlee was called upon again to punt; this time from the 16 yard line. That punt went 39 yards with no return for Adams.
The Saints defense put up a good stop against the Rebels on early downs, but on 3rd down Adams broke a 29-yard run for a touchdown. The PAT was good giving Adams a 7-0 lead with 5:56 to play in the 1st quarter. ACCS kicked off to Hunter Sutton who returned the ball 25 yards to the PCS 35 yard line. The Saints put together a good 11-play drive that moved all the way to the 23-yard line of Adams, but a failed 4th down attempt gave the ball back to the Rebels. Prentiss again forced a 3rd down before the Rebels converted again on a long run.
The next play, Adams threw a 27 yard touchdown and added the PAT to make it 14-0 with only a few seconds remaining in the 1st quarter. The following ACCS kickoff went out of bounds giving PCS the ball on the 35-yard line. The Saints moved up to the 46-yard line, but a fumble gave the ball back to Adams on the Saints 42 yard line. Adams was stopped on the first two plays before finding a receiver open for a 35-yard touchdown. The PAT was no good making the score 20-0.
Adams kicked off to Goddard who carried the ball 15 yards to the 35-yard line. Prentiss ran the ball consistently to the 46-yard line before the drive was stopped and they were forced to punt again. Greenlee’s punt went only 19 yards giving Adams the ball on their own 41-yard line. The Saint defense was all over the Rebels on this series forcing a 3rd and 20. Following an ACCS timeout, Peyton Dungan came up with an interception for the Saints and returned it 4 yards to the PCS 44 yard line.
Unfortunately, Prentiss returned the favor when QB Greenlee threw an interception to give ACCS the ball on the Prentiss 45 yard line. Four plays later, ACCS scored again on a 5-yard pass. The PAT was good making the score 27-0 with 4:03 left in the 1st half. Goddard was again the recipient of the kickoff. Following a 6-yard return, the Saints started on the PCS 26-yard line. Prentiss worked their way to the 40-yard line of the Rebels, but failed to convert on 4th and 2 giving ACCS the ball.
On the next play ACCS scored on a 60 yard run. The PAT was no good making the score 33-0 which is actually lower than the yearly 1st half average for Adams. Hunter Sutton took the following kickoff and returned it 7 yards to the Saints 32 yard line. Good runs by Austin Daughdrill and Blake Lightsey moved the ball to the ACCS 44 yard line, but Greenlee was again intercepted. ACCS chose to kneel out the clock.
The 2nd half kickoff by Josh Daley went 35 yards and was returned the Adams 43 yard line. Adams scored on 3rd down on a 50-yard run and added the extra point. The score was now 40-0. The remainder of the 3rd quarter was just as tough as Prentiss threw two interceptions for touchdowns. Adams went into the 4th quarter with a 52-0 lead. However, the Saints were driving as the final quarter began. Daughdrill, Lightey, Shivers, Dungan and Hathorn moved the ball all the way to the ACCS 15-yard line.
On 3rd down, Hathorn found Shivers for a touchdown pass. Daley added the extra point making the score 52-7. The Saints and Rebels traded possessions to end the game. The Saints ended the season with a 7-5 overall record and a 2nd place finish in District 5AA. Prentiss had to say goodbye to a great group of senior players that included #3 Tyler Shivers, #5 Tanner Hathorn, #6 Dillon Rush, #10 Wesley Daughdrill.