First round games aren’t supposed to be tough for No. 1 seeds, but somebody forgot to tell that to Amite School Center.

    The Rebels rallied from a 20-6 deficit before falling 26-24 to Newton County Academy in the MAIS Class A playoffs Friday night.

    It took a stop on a two-point conversion with 1:12 remaining and a recovered onside kick by Dillon Williams to close out the win for NCA.

    The Generals threatened to extend their 20-6 lead on an 11-yard run for an apparent touchdown by Williams. A holding penalty negated the score and NCA ended up turning the ball over on downs.

    “We should have went up 28-6 or 26-6 at least,” said NCA coach Robert Roberts. “We get a holding call and it went downhill from there.

    “We tried to give the game away. We’ve got a lot of hard work to do, but we’re still in it. It was ugly, but we got it.”

    After the stop, it took Amite one play to score as Brandon Terrell hit Trevor Coleman on a short pass over the middle that turned into an 80-yard touchdown with 10 minutes left in the game. A two-point try failed, leaving the Generals up 20-12.

    Williams, who rushed 33 times for 278 yards, lost a fumble at his 32 and it took the Rebels only five plays to pull to within 20-18. Terrell connected with Benji Varnado on a 17-yard touchdown pass with 7:33 to go. Coleman tripped over one of his linemen’s feet in the backfield on the 2-point try.

    Williams appeared to put the game away when he converted a fourth-and-1 into a 46-yard touchdown run with 3:42 left to put NCA up 26-18. He was stopped short on a two-point try to keep the Rebels in striking range.

    And strike again they did after Williams’ 2-yard punt from his 12 was returned five yards to the NCA 9 by Blake Terrell with 1:19 to go.

    Bull Toler scored on the next play to bring Amite to within 26-24, but Toler was stopped short on the potential tying 2-pointer.

    Amite struck first on a seven-play, 31-yard drive following a 16-yard punt by Williams. Toler scored from two yards out with 4:10 remaining in the first quarter. Toler had six carries for 24 yards on the drive.

    The Generals answered with a 12-play, 55-yard drive capped by a 1-yard run by Williams with 10:31 to go in the second quarter. Williams had seven carries for 29 yards on the drive.

    A seven-play, 79-yard drive highlighted by a 60-yard run by Williams put the Generals up 12-6 with 5:18 to go in the first half. Williams got the score on a 4-yard run.

    Amite reached the NCA 28 late in the first half before eventually punting.

    NCA opened the second half with an 11-play, 71-yard scoring drive that saw Williams score on another 4-yard run with 6:28 to go in the third quarter.

    Williams added a two-point run for a 20-6 lead.

    The Generals (7-4) held Amite (5-7) to just four plays in the third quarter before having to fend off the late rally in the fourth quarter to advance to next Friday’s second-round home contest with Cenla Christian Academy, which crushed Porter’s Chapel Academy 53-20.