HA finds success in title game
By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
Nov. 20, 2003
When the Heidelberg Academy Rebels get to the state championship round in football, you can generally bank on them to bring home the title of champion.
Seven times the Rebels have advanced to the finals and in each of their last five chances they've come out on top.
It wasn't always that easy for HA.
In just their third year of existence, the 1972 Rebels reached the finals under head coach Buddy Sauls where they took a 34-6 beating from Strider Academy on the Heidelberg field.
In 1974, history repeated itself as Heidelberg again hosted Strider for the Class A championship and lost 32-0. Current HA head coach Tom Lewis (141-43 in 16 seasons) was a player on that team.
Heidelberg won its first state championship under Sauls in 1980, celebrating on its own field after beating West Panola 36-0 in the title game. The 80 Rebels finished with a 13-0 record to set a school record for wins in a season.
The Rebels made it back-to-back championships in 1981 when they defeated Manchester Academy 41-18 in the finals at Yazoo City to cap another 13-0 season.
The 1980-82 HA teams compiled a school record 35-game winning streak before a 29-0 loss at Lamar in the next-to-last game of the 1982 season.
From 1976-82, the Rebels compiled an amazing 75-5 record.
Sauls retired following the 1987 season with a 170-27 mark in 18 years at HA.
After the 1981 banner season, it was 13 years before the Rebels would make another appearance in the championship contest in Lewis' seventh year as head coach. The 1994 Rebels set a school record for wins, as they capped a 14-0 season by thumping Strider 42-24 in the title game at Jackson Prep.
Lewis got his second state title in 2000 as the Rebels wound up a 13-1 season by beating Tri-County Academy 27-7 in the championship contest at Mississippi College.
The Rebels won their third state crown under Lewis in 2002, blanking Prentiss Christian School 27-0 in the finals at MC.
Heidelberg, 11-2, faces 13-0 Trinity Episcopal of Natchez for the 2003 state championship today at 1 p.m. at Mississippi College.
