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Once upon a time, in a land not so very far away, there stood a once proud football program. A program that ascended to the highest levels obtainable in its sport; an undefeated season with a state championship trophy at the end, multiple district championships, and the respect and ire of many a local football programs. They called this program Brookhaven Academy.
This is where we cue the image of the melting strip of film and the sound effect of something coming to a sudden stop
This was not your normal Brookhaven team. Due to a series of smaller grades and classes, the Cougars of Brookhaven (the bad Cougars) have not had a season reflective of their storied pass. There are athletes on the team and kids that are playing their absolute hardest, of that there is no question. The Bad Cougars are forced to play many younger players, kids yet to be officially classified as high school, so brighter days are ahead.
This year, the bad Cougars have lost their four district games by a combined score of 177-6. The six points came against Cathedral. Brookhaven is yet to win a game this year.
The good Cougars had their normal cast of characters continue to play their starring roles. Kyle Burney, a Princely young lad, returned the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown. He went on to rush the ball 5 more times for 136 yards and two touchdowns.
Matthew Burney and Triston Cowan each added a touchdown to their yearly totals. Matthew passed for another 45 yards, completing 66.6% of his passes. One of which was to Cullen Shows, who rumbled towards the goal line,31 yards away, only to be stopped inches from scoring. In all, the Good Cougars gained 366 yards on offense to the Bad Cougars 92.
Defensively, Cowan and Aaron Burney led the tackling brigade with 3.5 each. Aaron also had an interception. Brandon Thorton burst onto the stat sheet, collecting three solo tackles.
However, a new cast of characters made themselves known. Some, like Cook Weathersby, who has played very well defensively throughout the season, made himself known in other roles. Weathersby galloped up and down the field for 69 yards on only 5 carries, 42 of which came on one scoring run. Not to be outdone Caleb Garner (4 carries for 38 yards) scored from the 1 yard line for the final touchdown of the evening.
In the kicking game, the sure and steady Scott Johnson added 1 field goal and four extra points. Grycen Scott and Chris Cockrell were also called upon in the kicking game and neither disappointed with extra points that split the uprights.
All in all, it was an entertaining night, as it always is when you beat your arch rival. When the final horn sounded, the Good Cougars defeated the Bad Cougars by a score of 51-0. All was right in the land.
Reality, however, will quickly assert itself as the Cougars prepare for their next opponent. Just as Brookhaven has yet to win a game this year, the Rebels from Adams County Christian School are yet to lose a game this season.
Their latest conquest came against East Rankin when the Rebels came from behind in spectacular fashion to defeat the Patriots of East Rankin. Adams, who had trailed all evening, tied the game at 39-39 with 21 seconds left. The extra point gave them a 40-39 lead and ultimately the victory.
Adams will travel to Simpson for the final game of the season. The 9-0 Rebels will play the 8-1 Cougars with the District Championship and playoff seeding on the line. The Rebels have been able to defeat every other district opponent up to this point. A remarkable feat considering 4 of the 5 teams will qualify for the playoffs and receive a high seeding.
Adams defeated Cathedral by a score of 27-17 in the first ever meeting of the two Natchez schools. Cathedral defeated Simpson by a score of 40-24 in an uncharacteristically sloppy game for the Cougars. Should Simpson defeat Adams, there will be a three way tie for the District lead. That is assuming Cathedral defeats Columbia Academy. Should Columbia travel to Natchez and defeat Columbia, then the winner of the Adams versus Simpson game will be crowned the district champion.
Should there be a three-way tie, then the three teams will look to the MAIS tiebreaker system. The following tiebreaker would be used: 1. Head-to-head competition, 2. Record against other teams in the district (from best to worst), 3. Point differential among the teams involved in the tie, 4. Point differential among the other teams in the district (from best to worst), 5. Coin Flip. The point differential is capped at 18 points.
Then there are the playoff implications. Currently, Adams is tied with Indianola for the number one seed due to their accumulation of Power Points, the metric by which the MAIS seeds teams. Currently, Simpson is third in Power Points, and a win over Adams would move them higher.
However, one quirk in the MAIS seeding process is the fact all District Champions are slotted in the first 5 spots of the playoff bracket, regardless of their Power Points. The loser of the Adams/Simpson game, would slide all the way to a 6th place seeding.
The contest Friday night has the makings to be one of the better games to take place on the Simpson campus in recent years. This is what the real Friday Night Lights are all about. While this won’t be the final chapter of the Tale of the 2015 Cougars, it is certainly a crucial chapter. Game time is scheduled for 7:00.
Brandon Thornton also made an interception, which led to the last touchdown!
Thornton also had 2 assists in addition to his 3 solo tackles…sorry, proud moma 🙂