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Simpson Defeats Parklane
By: Christian Carrico
The Simpson County Academy Cougars opened the 2015 football season with a convincing win over the visiting, much larger school, AAAA Parklane Academy. When the final horn sounded, the scoreboard read Simpson 20, Parklane 0, and the visitors left thankful that the score differential wasn’t more.
Simpson’s defense, led by Riley Runnels and his 6.5 tackles, was stingy throughout the entire ballgame. Parklane relied on an unconventional formation throughout its first series, but after some early success, the Cougars made the proper adjustments to stall the Pioneers first drive. Parklane went for it on 4th down, needing three yards to continue the drive. Cullen Shows made sure they only gained two.
The Cougars were unable to put points on the board in their first drive, but were able to move the ball against the Pioneer defense, but unable to push the ball in the end zone.
Twice in the first half, the Cougars were able to move the ball into the red zone. Twice they came away empty handed. Scott Johnson lined up for his first field goal attempt, only to have it blocked.
Late in the second quarter, Kyle Burney took off on a 70 yard scamper to the Pioneer 10 yard line. The Cougars were able to get to the three yard line but unable to score. Following a blocked field goal, the two teams entered halftime tied at zero.
SCA made the most of the second half kickoff, by relentlessly moving the ball down the field using the patented rushing attack that has served them so well over the years. Behind a bruising offensive line, including Peyton Neely, Alex Hamilton, Nicholas Dukes, Cullen Shows, and Patrick Mullins, the Cougars ran five successive running plays.
The final play of the drive saw Matthew Burney cross the goal line for the first points of the ballgame. Peyton Craft stepped in at long snapper, providing a picture perfect snap, and Scott Johnson placed the ball between the uprights for the extra point.
The defense stopped the Pioneers again on their next drive, allowing the offense to continue to pound the ball down the field. This time it was Kyle Burney that managed to find the end zone after a 19 yard run. Johnson converted the extra point.
Midway through the 4th quarter, the Cougars managed to put the icing on the cake, with Matthew Burney scoring his second touchdown of the evening. This time scoring from the 2 yard line. When the night was over, the opposing team probably heard the name Burney in their sleep.
Kyle finished the night with 203 yards on 20 carries for a 10.2 average and 1 touchdown. Matthew managed the game from the quarterback position, adding 71 yards of rushing and 2 scores. Aaron finished the night with 2.5 tackles.
The Cougars managed 323 yards of total offense, with every yard coming from the rushing attack. Parklane managed only 103 yards on the evening. Parklane had the only turnover on the night, a fumble that was recovered by Nicholas Dukes for Simpson.
As mentioned, the defense was stout throughout the evening. Will White provided 5 tackles and 1 sack on the evening. Patrick Zila and Triston Cowan each added 4 tackles. Jayce Night was believed to have the tackle of the game when he crushed a Pioneer on the far side of the field, leaving only the bottom of his Parklane cleats viewable to the home stands.
Head Coach Winston Mullins was pleased with the effort but recognized the Cougars will need to get better each week to managed the schedule the Cougars were dealt. “We have to get better in the special teams area and we have to score when we have the opportunity. But overall, glad we won and pleased with the effort the kids gave.”
Next up for the Cougars is another AAAA foe, this time the East Rankin Academy Patriots will pay a visit to Mendenhall. The Patriots defeated Benton Academy by a score of 17-13 in their first contest of the season. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm on the SCA campus.
