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The Simpson Academy Cougars hosted the Cougars of Columbia Academy in a critical District 4AAA matchup. The winner was almost assured one of the top two district spots in the playoffs. The loser would not be guaranteed anything. Unfortunately for Simpson, SCA was on the wrong side of the score column.
Simpson’s next opponent has forfeited the game. Brookhaven, who started the season with only fifteen players, has lost nearly half their players to grade problems and injuries and will be unable to field a team for the remainder of the season. That will setup a critical matchup with ACCS to close the season. A win against ACCS puts Simpson in a three-way tie for the district. Another district loss and the Cougars will have to rely on power points to secure a wildcard spot.
But it didn’t have to be that way, in fact, Simpson had ample opportunities to score against Columbia. Unfortunately, the Cougars only managed to put six points on the board.
Columbia scored first, scoring on a 12-yard pass from their quarterback, Wiley Cleland, to his favorite receiver. After the extra point, Columbia took an early 7-0 lead.
Simpson answered back later in the first quarter. Kyle Burney managed to travel the 12 yards needed to find the end zone. Grycen Scott’s extra point attempt, under heavy pressure from Columbia, bounced off the right upright.
Columbia managed to score again early in the second quarter. This time Cleland ran for four yards and Columbia’s second touchdown of the evening. Their attempt at a two-point conversion was no good.
This is when Simpson began singing the red zone blues. During the remainder of the second quarter and through the majority of the third, the Cougars had chances to score but failed to do so.
With 8:10 left in the second quarter and the ball on the Columbia 14 yard line, the Cougars turned the ball over on downs.
An interception by Bryce Caughman, on Columbia’s next series, gave the ball back to Simpson. This time the Cougars had the ball on the Columbia 2 yard line with 2:03 remaining in the half. The Cougars were able to gain one yard and turned the ball over on downs again to Columbia.
The Cougars went in to half time trailing Columbia by a score of 13-6. On the way to field house, Coach Winston Mullins had a collegial discussion with the referees on what constitutes holding. Convinced, he had made his point, Coach Mullins headed for the field house. By the end of the game, Columbia had been flagged for 18 penalties for 160 yards. Simpson was flagged 6 times for 60 yards.
With 9:53, Simpson found themselves on Columbia’s 12 yard line. This time the Cougars fumbled the football, with Columbia recovering.
With 5:45 left in the third quarter, Simpson found themselves on the Columbia 21 yard line. Two negative runs pushed the ball back behind the 30 yard line, and once again the Cougars turned the ball over on downs.
With 34 seconds left in the third quarter, Columbia’s Cleland threw his second touchdown of the night, this time for 11 yards. The extra point proved to be the final points of the ballgame. After the game, Columbia celebrated as if they had won the Super Bowl. In fact, it had been 21 years, dating back to 1995, since Columbia had defeated a team from Simpson in football.
Cleland single handedly outgained the Cougars. Cleland amassed 249 yards of offense, 166 passing and 83 yards rushing, in addition to the three scores he threw or ran for. The Cougars finished the game with 235 yards of offense.
Matthew Burney led the rushing attack with 131 yards. Ethan Flynt completed Simpson’s only pass of the night. Thomas Pepper was on the receiving end of Flynt’s pass, gaining 46 yards and setting up one of Simpson’s failed red zone appearances.
Cook Weathersby collected double digit tackles, with 11. Weathersby’s stat line was impressive, with 10 solo tacks and 2 tackles for a loss. Arron Burney and Andrew Kennedy each recorded 4.5 tackles. Dylan Hallman was the only other Cougar to be credited with a tackle for a loss (2).
The Cougars will use their unexpected bye week to heal all of the bumps and bruises that comes with a grueling season. They will also use the bye week to prepare for their game against ACCS. Win and there is a three-way tie for first place in the district, lose and rely on power points for a wildcard spot.
The Cougars final regular season game will be in Natchez against ACCS at 7:00 pm on October 21st.
