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By Coach Winston Mullins
Simpson and Columbia played a nail biter that came down to the final play. With one tick of the clock left Simpson had the ball on the Columbia 31 yard line with the game tied 26-26, Ethan Flynt hit Hunter Cline with a 31 yard touchdown pass to give Simpson a 32-26 win. The game started with Simpson driving down the field on their first drive capped off by an Ethan Flynt 17 yard run, the Dylan Hallman 2 point conversion run was good, and with 8:46 left in the first quarter Simpson led 8-0. Columbia would close the gap with 18 seconds left to go in the first quarter on a 1 yard touchdown pass, the 2 point conversion failed, and SImpson led 8-6. The Cougars of Simpson would increase their lead with 1:04 left in the half on a Cook Weathersby 41 yard run, the 2 point conversion failed, and the halftime score was Simpson 14 Columbia 6. There was no scoring in the third quarter thanks to the Simpson defense who turned Columbia away twice, but the fourth quarter was full of excitement. Columbia would score with 10:45 left in the game on a 5 yard touchdown pass, the 2 point conversion run was no good, and Simpson led 14-12. The Simpson Cougars would answer right back as Cook Weathersby would return the ensuing kickoff 69 yards for a touchdown, the PAT was no good, and Simpson led 20-12 with 10:30 left in the game. Columbia would come right back and score on a 1 yard run, the 2 point conversion failed, and with 8:06 left in the game Simpson led 20-18. Simpson would answer back on an Ethan Flynt 2 yard run, the 2 point conversion failed, and with 4:39 left in the game Simpson increased the lead to 26-18. Columbia answered with a 16 yard touchdown pass, the 2 point conversion pass was good, and with 1:32 left in the game, the Cougars were all tied up. The Cougars would drive down to the Columbia 31 yard line, then the Flynt to Cline reception would give the Cougars the win 32-26, the win improved Simpson’s record to 4-3. Leading the Cougars offensively in the rushing game were Cook Weathersby 18 carries for 139 yards and a touchdown, Dylan Hallman with 10 rushes for 104 yards and a 2 point conversion, and Ethan Flynt 9 carries for 42 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the passing game, Hunter Cline had 1 reception for 31 yards and a touchdown, and Ethan Flynt completed 2 pass for 34 yards and a touchdown. The Cougars were led defensively by Austin Creel in on 13 tackles, Caleb Garner in on 12 tackles, and Corbin Hosey in on 11 tackles. Caleb Garner, Austin Creel, and Daniel Pepper had 2 sacks or tackle for loss. Corbin Hosey and Cole Weeks had a tackle for loss for the Cougars. Simpson had one takeaway, Thomas Pepper recovered a fumble. In team stats Simpson had 323 yards of total offense, 289 yards rushing, 34 yards passing, and picked up 18 first downs. Columbia had 367 yards of total offense, 141 yards rushing, 226 yards passing, and picked up 29 first downs.
In Junior High action on Thursday the 7th and 8th Grade won 14-0 and the Junior High lost 37-8 against Lamar School.
The Cougars will travel to Hartfield Academy in Flowood this Friday for a district game with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. This is the 3rd time that the Hawks and Cougars have faced each other with Simpson leading the series 2-0. The last time the two teams met Simpson won 37-0 in 2014. The Junior High Cougars will host Copiah Academy on Thursday, October 5, with the 7th and 8th grade playing at 5:30 p.m. and the Junior High to follow.
