Rebels improve to 6-3 on season with Lamar win
In a battle of two of the top quarterbacks in the MAIS, it was a missed PAT that made the difference.
Leake got 343 yards and three TDs from George Wilcox and took advantage of a missed extra point in the fourth quarter to take a 35-34 win over Lamar School on Friday night.
Leake improves to 6-3 on the season and will host Simpson County Academy on Friday night for a chance to win the District 2-5A championship.
Leake coach Brian Pickens
“I was really proud of our kids,” Pickens said. “They fought all night long and never got down. Every time Lamar went up, our kids answered. And when they missed the extra point, we got the ball and ran out the clock.I was proud of our offensive line for taking over right there. We’ve lost some close games this year and I was glad to see us finally win a close win.”
Lamar got the ball to start the game and went 61 yards in 10 plays, scoring on a 1-yard run. The PAT was good and the Raiders led 7-0 with 8:06 left in the first quarter.
The Rebels responded with a quick-strike offense as George Wilcox hit Matthan Weaver on a 50-yard touchdown pass with 6:35 left in the first period. Matthew Nowell’s PAT was blocked and the Raiders held a 7-6 lead.
Lamar got the ball back and went on another long drive, going 68 yards in 12 plays and scoring on a 1-yard quarterback sneak. The PAT was good and Raiders led 14-6 with 29.8 seconds left in the first quarter.
The two teams then traded possessions as Leake took over on its 35. The Rebels then got back-to-back 23-yard plays and Wilcox scored on a 1-yard run with 8:33 left in the second quarter. Wilcox then hit Weaver on the two-point conversion to tie the game up at 14-14.
Lamar then hit a pair of big plays with a 37-yard completion and then hit a 21-yard touchdown pass to retake the lead at 21-14.
The Rebels answered with a quick score. After Wilcox hit Majure Chandler on a 20-yard completion, he hit Weaver on a 36-yard touchdown throw. The PAT failed and Lamar led 21-20 at the half.
The two teams traded possessions to start the second half as Leake fumbled to start the half. But Lamar turned the ball over on downs. Leake then struck quickly again. After an 18-yard completion to Weaver, Wilcox hit Matthew Nowell on a 33-yard touchdown pass with 9:10 left in the third. Wilcox then hit Chandler on the two-point conversion to give Leake its first lead at 28-21.
After forcing a Lamar punt, Leake got a 36-yard punt return from Weaver and drove to the Lamar 1 before Wilcox fumbled at the goal line.
Lamar drove to the Leake 35 but turned the ball over on downs. Leake gave the ball right back on a Wilcox interception. Lamar scored three plays later on a 7-yard run and kicked the extra point to tie the game at 28-28 on the last play of the third quarter.
Leake answered with a 13-play, 67-yard drive, where they converted three third downs and one fourth down. Wilcox capped off the drive with a 1-yard run with 6:38 left to play. Nowell hit the PAT and Leake led 35-28.
Lamar hit a couple of big plays and then scored on a 21-yard touchdown pass with 5:01 left in the game. But the PAT was wide right and Leake led 35-34.
The Rebels then ran out the clock, driving to the Lamar 20 in nine plays to take the win.
Leake had 343 yards passing and 87 rushing for 430 yards of total offense while Lamar had 176 yards rushing and passing for 356 yards of total offense.
Wilcox was 14-of-33 passing for 343 yards with three TDs and one interception. Weaver had six catches for 169 yard and two TDs while Nowell had three catches for 75 yards and a TD. Majure Chandler had three catches for 73 yards.
Garrett Adcock had 73 yards on 16 carries and one catch for 20 yards.
On defense, Brayden Welch had 9.5 tackles while Coby Kemp had eight tackles. Tyler Winstead had 5.5 tackles while Hagan Bobo had five tackles.
The Rebels will be at home this week as they host rival Simpson County Academy with a district 2-5A championship on the line.