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Simpson Falls to Parklane
Under wet, soggy, and muddy conditions, the Simpson Academy Cougars took to the field as the visitors, facing AAAA school, Parklane Academy. While the Cougars played hard throughout the ballgame, they were no match for Parklane and the final score reflected such. Simpson lost by a score of 12-37.
Simpson won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. Representing the Cougars as Captains for the night were Jayce Night, Jacob Holbrook and Patrick Mullins. The trio earning the privilege of serving as Captains by attending the most summer workouts.
The Cougars kicked off to Parklane and the Pioneers began to march down the field with little resistance from the Cougars. Parklane put together a 16 play drive that traveled 68 yards. The Pioneers used a trio of running backs and a dual threat quarterback to matriculate the ball down the field for the first points of the night. Just over halfway through the first quarter, the Pioneers scored on a 6 yard run, and with the extra point, took the early 7-0 lead.
The Cougars, the scrappy bunch they are, responded with a successful drive of their own. Bryce Caughman gave the Cougars excellent starting position when he returned the kickoff to midfield. The drive featured plays by the Burney triplets and some solid runs by Dylan Hallman, the Cougars were able to move the ball down the field as well. Finally, on a 3 yard run around the left side, Matthew Burney crossed the goal line and brought the Cougars to within one point. The Cougars extra point attempt fell short, leaving the score 7-6.
Both defenses found their groove to start the second quarter, and neither team was able to mount an offensive threat.
Finally, with 1:30 minutes to go, Parklane crossed the goal line once again. This time their tailback scampered 4 yards for the score to put the Pioneers up 14-6.
Just seconds later, Hunter Cline provided the highlight of the night for the Cougars. After the kickoff, Matthew Burney took off for a 12 yard run, followed by a 3 yard run by Kyle Burney. The Cougars were sitting 40 yards away from the end zone, with under a minute to play.
Matthew Burney dropped back to pass, tossing the ball down the field into traffic. The ball was tipped and bobbled before falling into the waiting hands of Hunter Cline. Cline caught the ball in mid stride to carry it into the end zone for another Cougar touchdown. Cline had scored before many in the stands had realized he had even caught the ball. The play was eerily reminiscent of the Kelly to Adeboyejo touchdown pass that helped the Ole Miss Rebels defeat Alabama last year.
After that, the wheels came off for the Cougars. Simpson was outscored 16-0 in the third quarter, including a safety and two Pioneer touchdowns. In the 4th quarter, the Pioneers turned to their hefty fullback who continued to wear the Cougar defense down and scored the final points of the ballgame on a 10 yard run in the 4th quarter.
The stat line was similar to the final score. The Pioneers had 388 yards of total offense, doubling the 185 yards put forth by the Cougars. Matthew and Kyle Burney led the Cougar offense, gaining 60 and 55 yards respectively. Parklane’s leading rusher ran for 220 yards on his own.
Cameron Lea led the defensive charge, being credited with 6.5 tackles. Andrew Kennedy added 6, while Cook Weathersby and Will Newell each contributed 5 tackles. The Cougars were unable to force a turnover throughout the ballgame.
The Cougars will have to turn things around quickly as the next game is rapidly approaching. The Cougars will be on the road once again, taking on another AAAA opponent in East Rankin. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
