Lowndes Academy coach Art Sullivan and Wilcox Academy coach Chris Burford both said that when Lowndes and Wilcox meet, records don’t matter.

Contrary to their viewpoints, the records of both teams led to expected results as the Rebels (6-2) earned a 45-7 homecoming win over the Wildcats (2-6).

“I’m glad to get by them because we were a little worried about them,” said Sullivan. “I just like the way we played tonight. I thought we played real good offensively, and I thought the defense played well.”

Lowndes quarterback Anderson Casey scored three first-half touchdowns to give the Rebels’ a 21-7 halftime lead.

The Rebels took advantage of the Wildcats’ early mistakes after halftime, and running backs Brandon Pate and Tyler Bozeman quickly extended the Rebels’ lead to 35-7.

“We didn’t play very well. We didn’t block very well. They played well,” said Burford. “We’re not a very good team right now.”

Lowndes got on the board on its first possession. Casey scored the first of his three touchdowns, a 6-yard run, to cap a 7-play, 66-yard drive.

“We kind of sent a message on the first drive, and that’s what we wanted to do,” said Casey. “We didn’t want to come out here overconfident and mess around. We wanted to get it over with, put it away and have a little fun towards the end.”

The Rebels extended the lead to 14-0 with a 10-yard touchdown run by Casey to cap a 7-play, 80-yard drive.

The Anderson Casey show continued on the Rebels’ next possession as he put his team up 21-0 on a 2-yard touchdown run.

“The line blocked the best they have all season tonight,” said Casey.

The Wildcats were down, but they weren’t out of it yet.

They took advantage of Rebel penalties to march 87 yards and cut the deficit to 21-7. The Rebels were flagged for a personal foul facemask and a questionable pass interference call that kept the drive alive before Luke McNeece hauled in a 27-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Hutson McGraw. The play came on a fourth-and-eight situation.

“A 21-7 lead is not comfortable,” said Sullivan.

But his worries would soon be put to rest.

Wilcox running back Clay Watson fumbled the ball on the Wildcats’ first offensive play in the third quarter, and Scott Davis pounced on it at the Wilcox 19.

Three plays later, Bozeman scored on a 15-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 28-7.

The Wildcats then failed to recover a short kickoff from the Rebels, and Toby King recovered for Lowndes at the Wilcox 36.

Pate — who finished with 142 yards on 10 carries — scored on an 18-yard touchdown run three plays later to extend the lead to 35-7.

“That was it,” said Burford. “They played well. They made us play bad.”

The Rebels closed out the scoring on a 14-yard James Hagood touchdown run and a 23-yard Richard Pate field goal.

The Rebels amassed 362 rushing yards on 42 carries. Casey had 60 yards on eight carries, Bozeman had 55 yards on six carries and Hagood had 48 yards on seven attempts.

Casey was also 5-for-6 for 73 passing yards.