Football fever arrives Friday night on King Field when theBrookhaven Panthers host the Hazlehurst Indians in the 2002 debutfor both teams. Kickoff is 7:30.

It also marks the debut of new BHS head coach and athleticdirector Tucker Peavey. He is a 1980 BHS graduate. Peavey, 40, wasan assistant coach at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette thepast three years. He was hired to coach Pearl River CommunityCollege last January but preferred an opportunity to come home andcoach his alma mater.

Peavey hired BHS alums Rod Henderson and Ryan Ross as defensiveand offensive coordinators respectively this summer. He alsobrought BHS graduate Eric Stokes to the staff which includesholdovers Pat Hardy and Jaymie Palmer.

“I’m excited about the first game,” Peavey pointed out. “I knowthe kids are tired of beating on each other. I’m looking forward toit. I think the kids will perform like they are supposed to.”

Peavey will start a mixture of veterans and rookies Friday nightagainst Hazlehurst.

Starting on offense for the Panthers in the receiver corps areNick Downs (6-0, 179, sr.) at split end, Kendell Nickelson (5-10,153, sr.) at wide receiver, Josh Patrick (6-0, 177, jr.) at flankerand Michael Thrasher (6-1, 242, soph.) at tight end.

In the backfield, sophomore Jimmy Johns (6-2, 203) will start atquarterback. At running back are Kenny Smith (5-8, 165, jr.) andJosh Anderson (5-10, 182, sr).

In the offensive line, the starters are James Barker (6-0, 242,jr.) at right tackle, Kenneth Fairman (5-9, 285, jr.) at rightguard, Grant McDonnieal (5-11, 215, soph.) at center, Adam Ogden(6-1, 202, jr.) at left guard and Tyler Gatlin (6-0, 253, jr.) atleft tackle.

On defense, the ends are Julius Brown (6-0, 219, jr.) and JuliusLloyd (5-10, 183, sr.). Tackles are Jessie Bowman (6-0, 311, soph.)and Phillip Tobias (6-3, 275, jr.). The linebackers are EmmanuelPerkins (6-0, 191, sr.), Larry Caffie (5-10, 192, jr.) and BelmaCager (5-9, 184, sr.). Cornerbacks are Jarvis Wilson (5-9, 162,jr.) and Tyrone Jones (5-9, 159, jr.). The free safety is JoshCrawford (6-0, 180, sr.) and the strong safety is LaKendrickMaxwell (6-0, 15, sr.).

The kicking game will feature Domenick DiPaolo (6-0, 177, sr.)as placekicker and punter. Zach Harrison (6-1, 173, sr.) kicks off.Ogden will do most of the deep snapping.

“We have looked at some films on Hazleurst,” said Peavey. “Itlooks like they have good size and a lot of team speed. They haveathletes who can produce big plays on offense and defense.

“I know they gave Brookhaven a hard time last year.”

Last year at Hazlehurst, the Panthers escaped with a narrow35-32 victory. Down 35-20, with 9:24 left to play, the Indiansscored twice in the last four minutes of the game but they wereunsuccessful on a pair of 2-point conversion tries.

The Indians, under the direction of Coach Willie Brown, finished4-6 last season and advanced to the state playoffs as the fourthplace team out of Division 7-3A. Brown said his team is in arebuilding mode.

Brown’s players are optimistic about the season.

Two-way lineman Antonio Maymon (6-1, 235, sr.) said, “We want tomake it to the playoffs. We want to make it to the championshipgame.”

Teammate and linebacker Lemoine Lowe (5-8, 191, sr.) also isupbeat on for the campaign. “I hope we can play the way we arecapable. I want to lead the division in tackles andinterceptions.”

There six seniors on the Hazlehurst roster.

Panther Paws: Last year Brookhaven got 112rushing yards and 1 TD from tailback Cornelius Allen andquarterback Billy Williams provided 2 TD passes and 90 yards viathe airways. Emmanuel Perkins intercepted 2 passes, recovered 2fumbles and made 8 tackles.