MONTICELLO – The Lawrence County Cougars were firing on allcylinders and they had jet fuel in their tanks Friday night.Breaking loose for nearly 500 yards total offense, the Cougarscrushed Brookhaven’s Panthers 59-13 in a Region 6-4A showdown.Directing the massacre was senior tailback Wayne Hardy who rushedfor 166 yards and three touchdowns.

Hardy scored on runs of 9, 31 and 71 yards as the Cougarsimproved to 9-1 overall and 5-1 in the region. They’ll host theFlorence Eagles Friday night in the first round of theplayoffs.

South Pike (8-2, 5-1) lost 7-6 to McComb (7-3, 5-1) Friday nightat Magnolia but maintained the top rung in the region by virtue ofpoints allowed. The Eagles are home for the first round of theplayoffs, hosting Magee. McComb and Brookhaven (5-4, 3-3) musttravel. Brookhaven plays at Northeast Jones (8-2, 5-1), theDivision 5-4A champion, Friday night. McComb is at Quitman.

Hardy also worked at linebacker against Brookhaven and theCougars limited the Panthers to just 183 yards total offense.Brookhaven senior quarterback Billy Williams went down with anankle injury and didn’t play in the second half.

“We knew we had to come out and play hard,” said Hardy. “Ourdefense had been sloppy the last two or three weeks.”

Brookhaven didn’t make a first down in the second half. ThePanthers also lost 4 fumbles and had a punt blocked.

While the Cougars produced an impressive rushing attack, theywent to the airways and got touchdown results. Quarterback CaseyWilliams hooked up with wingback Jason Snell on TD connections of51 and 23 yards.

Lawrence County head coach Trent Hammond was pleased with histeam’s performance. “We felt like whoever could score 21 pointswould win it. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would score59.”

Hammond’s Cougars owned a 34-13 halftime lead. Snell’s diving,23-yard TD reception came with seven seconds left in the firsthalf. Brookhaven had pulled within a touchdown, 20-13, on a 1-yardrun by tailback Cornelius Allen. The Cougars went ahead 27-13 onHardy’s 9-yard scamper, capping a 9-play, 65-yard drive.

In the third quarter, Hardy raced 31 yards and 71 yards fortouchdowns, breaking the game open. With Williams sidelined by anankle injury, Brookhaven head coach Andrew Hickman pressed freshmanJimmy Johns into duty.

“We got our tails whipped,” said Hickman. “We couldn’t stopthem. They hit us with two long bootleg passes. We had them coveredbut they made great plays.”

The Cougars blocked a punt by Williams to set up a short 39-yardscoring drive for the game’s first touchdown. Snell’s 29-yardgallop ignited the home crowd and Johnathan Eley kicked the extrapoint for a 7-0 lead.

The Panthers came roaring back with a 71-yard TD drive. Allenwent the final 17 yards around his left side. Daniel Gates kickedthe extra point and it was 7-7.

Two minutes later, Snell got behind Brookhaven’s secondary onthe next series and raced 51 yards to paydirt with the reception.Eley’s kick made it 14-7.

Brookhaven’s second fumble led to the third Cougar TD. Allenlost the handle and Josh Wilson recovered. at the 31. Eley, a220-pound fullback, broke tackles on the first down carry andreached the end zone standing up for a 20-7 lead.

With Williams calling the signals, the Panthers responded. On a69-yard scoring drive. Williams completed 3 passes along with way,including a 16-yarder to Allen, an 8-yarder to Nick Downs and a29-yarder to Josh Patrick. Allen covered the final yard and it was20-13.

Brookhaven still holds a 9-4 lead in the series but the Cougarshave won 2 of the last 3 encounters.