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All things returned to normal for the Simpson County Academy Cougars as they found themselves on the winning side of the scoreboard, defeating East Rankin by a score of 23-7. The game was more of your typical Simpson game, as opposed to the aberration that was week one.
Simpson utilized its punishing ground attack and hard-hitting defense to steadily wear down the host Patriots. While the score remained tight in the first half, the Cougars rolled in the second half.
East Rankin put the initial points on the board for the ballgame on a fluke play. The Patriots quarterback hit their receiver after a positive gain. The Cougar defender forced the receiver to fumble. Unfortunately, the ball bounced into the arms of a fellow Patriot who carried it into the end zone. After two and a half minutes, the Patriots scored from 48 yards and took their one and only lead on the night.
But that was it for the East Rankin offense. The Cougar defense led by Caleb Garner, with 6 tackles and 2.5 sacks, made sure of that. The only other time the Patriots found themselves in the end zone, they were the victim of two safeties. The first when Noah Magee dropped the East Rankin tailback in the end zone and the second when forced to punt from their own end zone, the Patriot’s snap sailed wide and out of bounds.
The rest of the game featured the Simpson offense as we are all accustomed to seeing it. A bruising rushing attack that wore East Rankin down all night long.
Answering the East Rankin touchdown, the Cougars marched down the field, after a solid punt return and a defensive penalty, the Cougars were deep in East Rankin territory. After a pair of Kyle Burney runs, Dylan Hallman took the snap and carried it into the end zone for the Cougars first points of the game. Gryson Scott was solid on the extra point and the game was tied late in the first quarter.
The game would remain tied through half time. In the second half, Simpson came out strong and put 16 unanswered points on the board.
Kyle Burney scored the first of his two touchdowns on the night. The first one came midway through the second quarter on a 3 yard run. The extra point was no good.
In the fourth quarter, the Cougars poured in on. First, came the Noah Magee tackle which led to the first safety. East Rankin was forced to kickoff to the Cougars after the safety. All Kyle Burney did was return the ball 79 yards for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead.
The Patriots tried to mount one last drive. A huge sack by Aaron Burney and Caleb Garner caused the Patriots to lose 28 yards back to their own 12 yard line. An offensive penalty forced the Patriots back 5 yards to their own 7. Unable to move the ball, the Patriots were forced to punt. As mentioned, the snap sailed over the punter’s hands and out of the back of the end zone. Safety and the Cougars lead was 23-7.
Kyle Burney finished the night with 226 rushing yards on 24 carries and 1 touchdown. Not finished, he had a kickoff return for another 79 yards and another score. Dylan Hallman added 61 yards on only 8 carries and a score. Ethan Flynt and Matthew Burney each completed their lone pass attempts. Hallman’s pass of 25 yards connected with Hunter Cline and Burney tossed his for 9 yard to Bryce Caughman.
Caleb Garner led the defensive charge. Cook Weathersby and Bryce Caughman contributed 5 and 4 tackles respectively. Andrew Kennedy added 4 tackles, one of which saw him flying through the air to make contact with the Patriot runner. In doing so, Kennedy injured his shoulder and was forced from the game. Garner, Kennedy, Aaron Burney and Austin Teater each were credited with sacks of the Partriot passer.
Simpson continues its daunting early schedule with another AAAA school listed as the next opponent. The Cougars will travel to Meridian, their third road game in as many weeks, to take on the Raiders of the Lamar School. Lamar and Simpson know each other well, as they played many games as division rivals. The Raiders will be looking to avenge last year’s close loss, falling to the Cougars 22-26. Simpson will attempt to keep their momentum going with another win before heading into district play.
Expectations are that the game will be a hard fought, closely matched contest. Just what you would expect under the Friday night lights. Game time is scheduled for 7:00pm. Cougar fans are encouraged to Be Early, Wear Red and Be Loud!
