The Leake Academy Rebels recently finished off an undefeated season and won the first state football championship in the school’s 50-year history.And three Attala County players — Rhett Atkinson, Ethan Dunn, and Andrew Tate — played significant roles in the Rebels winning the Class AAAAA State championship last week with a 10-0 win over Adams County Christian.Leading the way for the Rebels was Atkinson, who has started at quarterback every game the last two seasons. Atkinson threw for 1,413 yards and 19 touchdowns on 63-0f-130 passing. The sophomore also rushed for 501 yards and five TDs on 95 carries. With Atkinson at the helm, the Rebels averaged 38.9 points a game.“When a kid plays quarterback for you, he has a huge contribution,” Leake coach Brian Pickens said. “When you are the quarterback, you control the game and he has done a great job. Since September of 2019, Rhett is 19-1 as the starting quarterback. And that’s very encouraging because he’s just a sophomore. He did a great job for us last year as a ninth grader, going from junior high to high school.”While the Rebels finished with an unbeaten record at 13-0, it was not always easy. Starting with a 24-point comeback in week two against Jackson Academy, the Rebels also posted comeback wins against Lamar School, Starkville Academy and Hartfield Academy.“He showed a lot of growth and a lot of maturity,” Pickens said. “The games that we have had this year, having to come back against Jackson Academy, Lamar, Starkville and Hartfield in the playoffs, he played a big part in. You look at being down that many games, it takes a very mature quarterback to lead you back. You have to make some big plays and have a sense of urgency. He did a super job and with him just being a 10th grader, it really makes the program look even that much better. We were 13-0 and we won the state championship and you have him for two more years so the sky is the limit for him.”On defense, Dunn, a junior, started at outside linebacker for the Rebels and had 12 solo tackles and 60 assists on the season. Like the other two juniors starting at linebacker, Dunn got better and better as the season went on.“Dunn played some for us as a sophomore and we moved him to linebacker this year,” Pickens said. “You take our whole linebacking group, they were all juniors and none of them had any experience at the linebacker position. That group got better each and every week and that goes back to this group allowed us to coach them. This group continually got better and we are in week 5 and were still doing fundamental stuff and working to get better.”And Dunn saved his biggest hit of the season for the championship game, halting Adams Christian on a big fourth-down play in the fourth quarter.“When you look at the state championship game, Dunn’s name really pops out. Adams Christian had some outstanding skill players and a really good running back. They had a big fourth down play and threw a swing pass out in the flat and when he caught it, it looked like he had nothing but green and Dunn closed the gap and dropped him for a loss. That was a huge play and that’s a testament to his hard work and the hard work of the entire group. All that hard work that they put in paid off in the championship game. You don’t know when that hard work is going to pay off but it paid off in the biggest show that we have had. He did a fabulous job for us this year. And we have him coming back next year.”On special teams, Tate also played a crucial role for the Rebels as the team’s long snapper.“A long snapper is one of the most valuable people on the field and a lot people don’t see that,” Pickens said. “ Our special teams were huge this year. Special teams has really been a big part of our success this year. Our special teams has pulled us through. Those punts, field goals and extra points, it all starts with that long snap. Nobody understands what a long snapper does to a coach. A good long snapper allows you to sleep on Thursday night. Whenever you graduate a long snapper, you aren’t going to rest well until that first game and you see what your punt team is going to do and that starts with the long snap. And I don’t worry about that with Andrew. He is steady and does a great job.”While often overlooked, Tate might have had the biggest play of the season that acted as a springboard to a championship run. That came in the second game of the season against Jackson Academy. The Rebels were down 30-7 and Tate recovered a fumble deep in Jackson Academy territory late in the third quarter. That play led to a touchdown and sparked a comeback that led to a 47-37 win for the Rebels.“Probably the biggest catalyst for this season and I have been asked that a hundred times started in week two against JA,” Pickens said. “We were down 30-7 and there is three minutes left in the third quarter and it’s not looking good. We punt and he flies down the field. Our long snapper is the direction changer and it’s his job to make the returner change directions and not to let him have a straight shot down the field. Andrew does a great job of hustling down the field. He is the first man down the field and when that JA player fumbled the ball, he was right there to jump on the fumble and that gave us a quick first down and that really set us up where we are kind of back in it. When I talked about effort that next week, that was the first play that I showed. Who would think that a long snapper in a 30-7 game would have that kind of impact on the game and the season? He’s a great kid who has come in and worked hard and given us great effort.”
