Rebels roll to win

Rebels roll to win

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After a disappointing loss to Madison St. Joseph last week, the Leake Academy Rebels responded with its best offensive game of the season.

The Rebels rolled up 428 yards of total offense as senior quarterback Rhett Atkinson threw for 129 and ran for 108 as Leake routed East Rankin 45-20.

Leake improves to 4-4 on the season and will host Heritage this week for homecoming. 

It was a good rebound win for the Rebels.

“We had a good night on offense,” Leake coach Brian Pickens said. “I thought Rhett had a good night. We threw for some touchdowns which should help his confidence and he had a big run early in the game. East Rankin was really big up front but I thought we were able to control both sides of the ball up front. Everybody got to play and it was a good team win that we really needed.”

The two teams exchanged long drives to start the game but neither resulted in scores. Leake got the first break of the game when Jake Adams forced a fumble and recovered it at the East Rankin 17. Whitt Welch then scored on the next play on a 17-yard run with 1:59 left in the first quarter. Matthew Nowell hit the PAT and Leake led 7-0  at the end of the first.

The Rebels got another turnover on a Charlie Brantley interception early in the second quarter. Three plays later, Rhett Atkinson scored on a 63-yard run with 7:41 left in the second quarter. Nowell hit the PAT and Leake led 14-0.

East Rankin responded with a six-play drive, scoring on an 11-yard pass with 4:35 left in the first half to cut the lead to 14-7. 

East Rankin recovered the ensuing onside attempt but a Jake Brown interception ended the scoring threat.

Leake then went 70 yards in four plays. After a 37-yard pass from Atkinson to Brantley, the senior QB hit Benjamin Jackson on a 36-yard touchdown pass with 23 seconds left in the half. Nowell’s PAT was good and Leake led 21-7 at the half. 

Leake got the ball to start the second half and went 60 yards in eight plays as Atkinson fund Aiden Watkins on a short pass that the senior receiver turned into a 20-yard touchdown pass with 8:29 left in the third. Nowell’s PAT gave Leake a 28-7 lead.

East Rankin answer with a big play, hitting a 64-yard touchdown pass with 5:06 left in the third to cut the lead to 28-13. 

Leake put together another long scoring drive as they went 53 yards win 10 plays as Welch scored on a 1-yard run with 10 seconds left in the third. Nowell’s PAT gave Leake a 35-13 lead.

After turning East Rankin over on downs, Leake struck quickly as Atkinson hit Watkins on a 40-yard touchdown pass with 10:32 left in the game. Nowell’s PAT gave Leake a 42-13 lead.

Leake’s last points came late in the fourth when Nowell hit his first field goal of the season on a 23-yarder with 3:03 let in the game fora 45-13 lead. 

East Rankin tacked on a late score against the Leake backups for the final margin.

The Rebels had 428 yards of total offense with 129 passing and 299 yards rushing.

Atkinson was 4-of-7 passing for 129 yards and three TDs while the senior QB ran for 108 yard on nine carries. Welch had 101 yards rushing on 18 carries while Jake Brown had 50 yards rushing on five carries. Kaden Chipley had 44 yards on five carries.

Watkins had two catches for 60 yards and two TDs while Jackson had one catch for 36 yards and Charlie Brantley had one catch for 33 yards.

On defense, Camden Marble led the Rebels with 8.5 tackles while Bryce Watkins had 7.5 tackles. Jake Adams had six tackles while Lucas Thomas had 5.5 tackles. Jarod Sims had 4.5 tackles while Grayson McDonald and Bishop Hardin had three tackles. Dylan Jones and Kaden Chipley each had 2.5 tackles apiece. Brown and Brantley each had interceptions. 






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