Jackson Academy snaps Rebels’ 14-game win streak
The Jackson Academy Raiders turned the tables on the Leake Academy Rebels on Friday night.
A year after losing a big lead and falling 47-37 to the Rebels, the Raiders bounced back and scored 20 unanswered points in the second half to beat Leake 27-13 on Friday night.
The win snaps a 14-game winning streak for the Rebels and puts them at 1-1 on the season.
Veteran coach Brian Pickens said he knew the Rebels were in for a tough contest heading into Friday night and the Raiders didn’t disappoint.
“It was a rough, four-quarter football game,” Pickens said. “We knew it was going to be a test. JA played for the 6A state championship last year and has a good chance to play for it this year. They have a real good defense and are solid on the defensive line. And they have some weapons on offense. In the first half, you couldn’t ask more out of our kids. They battled and led 13-7 at the half.”
Leake Academy got the first break of the game when a short punt by JA gave the Rebels the ball at the JA 31. Six plays later, Rhett Atkinson scored on a 2-yard run with 2:16 left in the first. Cole Arthur hit the PAT and Leake led 7-0.
The Raiders struck right back as Tate Collins hit transfer Dakota Jordan on a quick slant that the Mississippi State commit turned into an 87-yard touchdown with 38 seconds left in the half. The PAT was good and JA tied the game at 7-7.
The Rebels’ last score came midway through the second quarter. The Rebels went 72 yards in eight plays as Whitt Welch scored on a 40-yard run with 6:16 left in the half. The PAT failed and Leake held a 13-7 at the half.
In the second half, the Raiders dominated the action and took the lead early as Dakota Jordan scored on a 28-yard run with 10:17 left in the third. Scott Swalley hit the PAT and the Raiders led 14-13.
The closest the Rebels got to scoring was on the first play of the fourth quarter when Cole Arthur barely missed a 45-yard field goal.
The Raiders finally broke through the LA defense with 2:41 left in the game as Marcus Harris scored on a 17-yard run. The try for two failed and JA led 20-13.
The Rebels failed to convert on fourth down and turned the ball over deep in their own territory. The Raiders quickly punched in another score on a 16-yard run by Harris for the final margin.
“We just couldn’t get anything going in the second half,” Pickens said. “We had some opportunities but just couldn’t get going. This was a test and schools like JA are only going to make you better. We played four hard quarters of football and I thought we were in good condition at the end of the game. Our defense played as hard as I have seen them play.”
Jackson Academy outgained Leake 280 to 236 on offense. The Raiders had 187 yards passing and 93 rushing while Leake had 188 yards rushing and 48 passing and each team had two turnovers and 13 first downs apiece.
Atkinson was 5-of-18 passing for 48 yards and had two interceptions, both in the fourth quarter. The junior quarterback had 108 yards rushing on 26 carries while Welch had 58 yards rushing on 11 carries. Canon Parks had 22 yards rushing on nine carries.
On defense, Bryce Watkins led the defense with five solo tackles and three assists. Jake Brown had six solo stops while Ethan Dunn and Nick Gomillion each had three solo tackles and four assists. Gunter Scott had 3.5 tackles while Riley Myers had 2.5 tackles and two interceptions.
The Rebels will hit the road this week against a familiar foe as they take on former district rival Starkville Academy.
The Volunteers are 1-1 on the season, beating Lamar 28-14 last week and losing 37-0 to Jackson Academy in week one.
“It’s a huge game this week with Starkville and it’s always a tight game,” Pickens said.
Last year, Leake won a shootout with the Volunteers, scoring in the last minute to take a 49-45 win.