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Simpson Defeats Wayne Academy
The Simpson Academy Cougars made the long road trip to Waynesboro, MS for their first District game of the season. The trip could not have gone any better for the Cougars as they prevailed by a score of 36-0 over Wane Academy. Simpson now boasts a record of 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in District play as they head into Homecoming.
The Cougar coaching staff had challenged their defense to step up and make a stand against the Jaguars of Wayne and the team responded with its first shut out of the year. The Cougars finished the game with 55 tackles, 1 quarterback sack and a remarkable 10 tackles for a loss. Devin Hamilton led the team with 7 tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss. Peyton Sullivan recorded 5 tackles while Daniel Taylor, Shane Brown, Ethan Lyons and Matthew Shows each had 4 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.
The defense limited the Jaguars to a paltry 25 on their third down conversions. Wayne was only able to covert 4 third down attempts into a first down out of 16 attempts. Wayne was successful two times out of 6 on fourth down attempts. In all, Wayne was limited to only 109 yards of total offense in the entire game with 102 yards coming on the ground and only 7 yards through the air on 1-11 passing.
The defense was truly dominant throughout the game.
Simpson's special teams have also caught the eye of the coaching staff. An area where Simpson struggled earlier in the year, has improved as the season has progressed. The team is now covering kickoffs better and Andrew Berry is doing a good job on his kickoffs of getting the ball down the field.
Simpson has been forced to make changes to its punt team since Michael Layton was hurt in the PCS game. After several variations, it appears the team has settled on Joshua Broadhead as its punter. Joshua did not disappoint with a 40 yard punt average.
The Cougars have adopted a running back by committee approach as they fill the void left by Layton's injury. Each back in the trio brings his own unique running style. Daniel Taylor almost dares opponents to get in his way. Daniel ran over the Wayne defense on his way to a 59 yard night on 11 carries and 2 touchdowns. Jacob Allen utilized his speed and agility to shred the Jaguar defense for 126 yards on 6 carries with a 71 yard touchdown run. Andrew Berry relied on a combination of strength and speed to gain 39 yards on 3 carries and 1 touchdown.
Josh Hankins was perfect in his passing. Josh completed all 3 of his passes for 82 yards, with the longest being a 55 yard strike to Chris Sullivan.
The improved play of the offensive line has helped the running game and the improvement in the passing game. Recent changes to the offensive line, including the ion of Heath Slover at left tackle, have helped solidify the unit.
Simpson has also shown improvements in the turnover and penalty area. The Cougars had only one turnover on the night, a lost fumble on the third play of the game. The Cougars were only penalized one time during the game
Next up for Simpson is another District game against Sylva Bay. In addition to the ballgame, Simpson will be hosting its homecoming festivities.
According to Head Coach Billy Wayne Hankins, Sylva Bay is a much improved team over the one the Cougars beat last year by a score of 54-13. Sylva Bay is 2-2 on the season with a much improved defense and running game.
According to Hankins "Hopefully we will handle the distractions of homecoming this week in a positive way and come out there ready to play."
The game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm start, with the Homecoming court being announced at 6:30.
Pictures by Dee Griffin
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