Rebels play in Tri-County Jamboree

The Leake Academy Rebels got their last dress rehearsal as they prepare for the season opener this week.

The Rebels participated in the Tri-County Academy jamboree this past week and took on Copiah Academy and Pillow Academy.

The Rebels tied Copiah 0-0 and then beat Pillow 13-7 in the second contest.

“The jamboree went well,” Coach Brian Pickens said. “Any pregame scrimmage, you are going in like it’s a dress rehearsal. It’s the closest thing you are going to get to a game so you like to get your first game jitters out of the way. You get to see personnel go on and off the field and work those things out. That’s why they are important.”

The Rebels, who bring back 18 starters from last year’s undefeated state championship squad, weren’t perfect on the day, fumbling twice in the Copiah game. But other than those two miscues, Pickens said he was pleased with what he saw.

“We saw some good things on offense,” Pickens said. “The offensive line did some good things executing. We had a big pass and the run game was good. And of course, there are always things to work on early in the season.”

The Rebels did give up one touchdown in the game but were playing without two starting linebackers in the game.

“Defensively, I thought they did an excellent job,” Pickens said. “We had some injuries at linebacker and had some guys step up and make some plays. The defensive line and the secondary did a good job of coming up and stopping the run and defending the pass. We had some guys play who filled in.”