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The Simpson Academy Cougars traveled to Columbia, MS to take on the Cougars of Columbia Academy in a first round MAIS AAA playoff game. Columbia the eighth seed and Simpson the ninth, were familiar with each other having played just a couple of weeks ago. Just like the first game, Columbia walked away with the win. The only difference is this loss ended Simpson’s season.
With the loss, nine senior football players, 5 senior cheerleaders and two senior dance team members ended their high school sports careers. It would be hard to find a finer group of student athletes anywhere in the state. Their contributions to the school and their communitys will be greatly missed.
Columbia raced out to an early lead and never looked back. The Columbia quarterback was having a game to be remembered. He completed 12 of his 14 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns before having to leave the game with an injury. Columbia used a balanced attack to keep the Simpson defense on its heels most of the night.
Columbia scored the first 14 points of the game, scoring on a 6-yard pass play and then a 12-yard run. Dylan Hallman, who led Simpson in rushing yards, ran well all night and put Simpson’s first points on the board following a 27-yard run. Grycen Scott converted on the extra point.
But Columbia answered right back with three more scores in the same pattern. Their third score of the night was the result of a 24-yard completion, followed by a 21-yard run and then another 26-yard pass. With two minutes to go in the first half, Columbia had a commanding 34-7 lead.
The Simpson run game struggled most of the night. Columbia seemed to know the Cougars plays as well as Simpson did. It was when, late in the second half, the Cougars began to throw it more, things began to open. Matthew Burney, with just 11 seconds left until half, connected with Thomas Pepper with a leaping chest pass from 4 yards out. Scott converted the extra points to closed the score to 34-21.
With Columbia’s quarterback out of the game in the second half, Scoring was limited in the second half. The only points scored was when Ethan Flynt connected with Bryce Caughman midway through the 4th quarter on a 37 throw and catch for a score. Scott converted once again.
Simpson was unable to recover the onside kick and the final minutes passed by with the final score of Columbia 34, Simpson 21. Columbia advances to the second rounds and will now travel to Indianola for round two.
Matthew Burney led the passing attack, completing 5 of his 7 passes for 47 yards and 1 score. Ethan Flynt was 2 for 3 for 46 yards and a score. Dylan Hallman led the rushing attack with 64 yards on 9 carries and Ethan Flynt gained 41 yards on only 2 carries. The Cougars managed to turn the ball over 4 times with fumbles, costly mistakes that ended several drives prematurely. Kyle Burney gained most of his yardage through the passing game, collecting 51 yards on 2 receptions.
Andrew Kennedy had a monster game on the defensive side of the ball, collecting 8.5 tackles. Senior Jayce Knight had his best game of the year, collecting 8 tackles, all of which were solo tackles. Caleb Garner was credited with 7 tackles and Cook Weathersby was credited with 5.5.
The Cougars will now begin the long off-season. After a little time off, the underclassman will be back in the weight room preparing for the 2017 season. The Seniors will spend their offseason preparing for their next stage in life. Cougars fans everywhere, are very appreciative of what this senior class has accomplished and we look forward to seeing what they accomplish next. Thank you seniors!
