Leake downed by Parklane in title game

The Leake Academy football season came to an end last week in the Class 5A title game.

Parklane rolled up 565 yards of offense and built a big lead early as the Pioneers rolled to a 70-42 win over the Rebels.

Leake finishes the season with a 9-4 record.

“The bottom line is Parklane was better today,” Leake coach Brian Pickens said. “We didn’t tackle well and they had a lot to do with that. Their skills guys are really good. But I was proud of our kids, they never gave up and fought to the end. It’s hard to see it today, but we had a great year and did some great things. This was a really fun group to coach and a great group of seniors. I just hate that it ended this way for them.”

Leake got the ball to start the game and went three and out. Parklane then went 90 yards in seven plays, scoring on a 10-yard touchdown run. The PAT was good and Parklane led 7-0 early.

Leake responded as they went 65 yards in 10 plays and scored on a 10-yard run by Garrett Adcock with 4:38 left in the first quarter. Matthew Nowell’s PAT failed and the Rebels trailed 7-6.

But Parklane answered with three straight scores on a 7-yard pass, a 12-yard run and a 20-yard run to stretch the lead out to 28-6 midway through the second quarter.

The Rebels then went 66 yards in six plays. After a 59-yard completion to Nowell, Wilcox found Nowell on fourth down for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 3:01 left in the half. Wilcox then hit Grayson McDonald on the two-point conversion to cut the lead to 28-14.

Parklane then turned the ball over on downs but Leake gave it right back with an interception. The Pioneers then went 63 yards in five plays and scored on a 21-yard touchdown pass right before the half to go up 35-14 at the break.

“I thought the end of the half was big,” Pickens said. “We finally got a stop on defense and then threw an interception and gave them the ball right back. They score right before the half and then got the ball to start the second half. Then it’s 42-14 and we are down four scores. We could just never get them off the field. They were really good and the No. 1 seed for a reason.”

Parklane got the ball to start the second half and scored on a 44-yard run to go up 42-14.

Leake answered with a 65-yard drive and scored on a 12-yard run by Wilcox. Nowell hit the PAT and the Rebels cut the lead to 42-21.

Parklane recovers an onside attempt and then scored on a 49-yard touchdown pass to push the lead back to 49-21.

The Rebels then went 62 yards in 10 plays as Wilcox hit Grayson McDonald on a 21-yard touchdown pass. Nowell’s PAT cut the lead to 49-28.

Parklane added a 33-yard touchdown run at the end of the third and led 56-28 going to the fourth.

Leake scored early in the fourth on a 26-yard touchdown pass to Nowell, his third of the game. The Pat cut the score to 56-35.

Parklane added two more scores in the fourth quarter on a 35-yard touchdown run and a 10-yard scoop and score on defense to take a 70-35 lead.

Leake added a late touchdown on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Wilcox to Nowell for the final margin of 70-42.

The Pioneers had 565 yards of total offense while the Rebels had 404 yards of total offense.

Leake had 290 yards passing as Wilcox was 20-of-35 for 290 yards with four TDs and three interceptions. Nowell had seven catches for 148 yards with three TDs while Majure Chandler had three catches for 50 yards. Matthan Weaver had five catches for 36 yards while Jack Harkins had three catches for 27 yards. Adcock had 72 yards rushing on nine carries while Wilcox had 37 yards on 17 carries.

On defense, Brayden Welch led the Rebels with six tackles while Tyler Winstead had 5.5 tackles. Coby Kemp, Joshua Gray and Grayson McDonald each had 4.5 tackles while Weaver and Caden Monk each had three tackles.