Rebels headed back to 5A state championship

The Leake Academy football team is headed back to the Class 5A championship game.

The Rebels got a big game from junior quarterback George Wilcox, who 369 yards of offense and led Leake to a 28-23 win over Magnolia Heights in the Class 5A semifinals.

The Rebels improve to 9-3 on the season and will take on Parklane Friday at 3 p.m. at Jackson Academy for the Class 5A state championship.

Leake Academy coach Brian Pickens has the Rebels back in the 5A championship game for the first time since 2020 when Leake took home their first state title in football.

“I’m just super proud of our kids,” Pickens said. “We didn’t play our best in the first half but hung in there and were able to get the lead in the second half. They had the ball a lot in the first half but we were able to get two big stops to keep it close. Then our offense got going and got us the lead. Once we got that lead, we were able to run the football and it never felt like we were in trouble. I’m just proud of our kids. They are a fun group and have worked really hard.”

The Chiefs got the ball to start the game and went 60 yards in six plays, scoring on a 33-yard run with 9:17 left in the first. The PAT was good and the Chiefs led 7-0.

Leake answered quickly, scoring on their first play as Wilcox threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Nowell with 9:05 left in the first. Nowell hit the PAT and the

Rebels tied the game at 7-7.

Magnolia Heights answered with another long drive, going 12 plays and getting inside the Leake 10. The Leake defense held and the Chiefs kicked a 22-yard field goal to retake the lead at 10-7.

Leake gave the ball right back two plays later with a Wilcox interception. Magnolia Heights then drove into Leake territory again but stalled and were forced to punt.

The Rebels gave the ball right back on another interception by Wilcox. But the Leake defense held again and forced a punt.

Leake then went 85 yards in 11 plays as Wilcox hit Jack Harkins on a 20-yard touchdown pass with 36 seconds left in the second quarter. Nowell’s PAT was good and the Rebels took their first lead at 14-10, a score that stood until halftime.

“It was kind of bend but don’t break in that first half,” Pickens said. “The defense was on the field a lot but only gave up 10 points. I thought the score at the end of the half was really big because that gave us the lead and we were getting the ball to start the second half.”

Leake got the ball to start the second half and went 65 yards in five plays. Wilcox then hurt the Chiefs with his feet as he broke a 55-yard run to the Magnolia Heights 1. Wilcox finished off the drive on the next play with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone. Nowell hit the PAT and the Rebels took a 21-10 lead with 10:09 left in the third quarter.

After a Magnolia Heights punt, Leake drove deep into the Chiefs' territory but missed a 28-yard field goal late in the third quarter.

Magnolia Heights pulled closer as they went 80 yards in seven plays, scoring on a 13-yard touchdown pass late in the third. The PAT was good and Leake held a slim 21-17 lead.

The Rebels responded as they went 72 yards in 11 plays. Wilcox finished off the drive with a 1-yard run with 8:19 left in the fourth quarter. Nowell hit the PAT and the Rebels led 28-17.

Magnolia Heights answered as they hit a 50-yard gainer and later scored on a 1-yard run on fourth down with 5:43 left in the fourth. The try for two failed and the Rebels led 28-23.

Leake got the ball with more than five minutes left to play and converted three first downs to ice the game and take the win.

“That’s really big to get the ball with more than five minutes left to play and be able to run the clock out,” Pickens said. “George ran the ball really hard and Garrett (Adcock) got some tough yards in there. I thought the offensive line did a good job of getting some movement up front and wearing on their defense.”

The Rebels had 444 yards of total offense with 209 yards rushing and 235 yards passing.

Wilcox led the Rebels with 134 yards rushing on 18 carries with two TDs while Garrett Adcock had 75 yards on 17 carries.

Wilcox was 17-of-21 passing for 235 yards with two TDs and two interceptions. Nowell had six catches for 124 yards and one TD while Matthan Weaver had seven catches for 71 yards. Harkins had three catches for 37 yards and one TD.

On defense, Grayson McDonald led the defense with 9.5 tackles while Coby Kemp had 7.5 tackles. Joshua Gray had 5.5 tackles while Tyler Winstead had four tackles. Nowell had three tackles while Jake Rudolph and Brayden Welch each had two tackles.