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Friday night, September 1st, Simpson Academy traveled to Oak Forest Academy in Amite, LA. The Cougars had the ball first and fumbled on their first possession which led to an Oak Forest field goal and a 3-0 lead with 7:13 left in the first quarter. The Cougars answered the Oak Forest score with a touchdown run of 71 yards from Dylan Hallman and a 2 point conversion run by Ethan Flynt taking the lead 8-3 with 5:50 to go in the first quarter. Oak Forest would come right back with a touchdown run and a 2 point conversion to take a 11-8 lead with 1:27 left in the first quarter. The second quarter saw the Cougars reclaim the lead with a 68 yard touchdown scamper by Dylan Hallman, the PAT was no good giving Simpson a 14-11 lead. The Cougars recovered an onside kick, but the drive ended on turnover on downs. The Yellow Jackets would drive to the Simpson 28 yard line, but a 45 yard field goal attempt came up short. Simpson drove back down the field, and the drive was capped off by a 35 yard Michael Winstead touchdown run, the PAT was no good making the score 20-11 Simpson at the half. The third quarter started with a short kickoff by the Cougars and a quick score by the Jackets on a 45 yard touchdown run, PAT was good and OFA trailed 20-18 with 11:11 to go in the third quarter. After several possession changes OFA connected on a 45 yard field goal to take the lead 21-20 with 3:07 let in the third quarter. The fourth quarter started with an eleven play OFA drive capped off with a 1 yard touchdown run, the PAT was good, and OFA led 28-20 with 7:45 left in the game. The Jackets would extend their lead on their next possession on a 44 yard touchdown run, the PAT was no good, and OFA led 34-20. The Cougars would score with 2:54 left in the game when Ethan Flynt hooked up with Bryce Caughman on a 69 yard touchdown pass, the 2 point conversion pass from Ethan Flynt to Thomas Pepper was good and OFA led 34-28. The Jackets recovered the onside kick and iced away the win. The loss dropped the Cougars to a 1-2 record for the season. Leading the Cougars offensively in the rushing game was Dylan Hallman with 17 rushes for a 197 yards. In the passing game Bryce Caughman had 1 receptions for 69 yards and Ethan Flynt completed 1 pass for 69 yards. The Cougars were led defensively by Caleb Garner and Cook Weathersby in on 9 tackles, Corbin Hosey 7 tackles, and Daniel Pepper and Michael Winstead in on 6 tackles. Daniel Pepper, Thomas Pepper, Tucker Varnes, Dylan Hallman, Keton Cockrell, Corbin Hosey, and Cook Weathersby all had a sack or tackle for loss for the Cougars. The only takeaway for Simpson was an Austin Creel fumble recovery. In team stats Simpson had 365 yards of total offense, 296 yards rushing, 69 yards passing, and picked up 11 first downs. Oak Forest had 304 yards of total offense, 207 yards rushing, 97 yards passing, and picked up 18 first downs.
In Junior High action on Thursday the 7th and 8th grade lost 24- 0 to Leake Academy and the Junior High lost 46-0.
The Cougars will host the Presbyterian Christian Bobcats Friday with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. This is the 8th time that the Bobcats and Cougars have faced each other with the Bobcats holding a 4-3 series advantage and have won the last three meetings. The Cougars last played PCS in 2014 and lost by a score of 42-20. The Junior High Cougars will travel to Columbia Academy on Thursday with Junior High only starting at 6:00 p.m.
By Winston Mullins
Photos: Theresa Holbrook & Jay Phillips
