Brookhaven and Lawrence County renew a heated rivalry Fridaynight on King Field. The Region 6-4A lead is up for grabs and alarge crowd is expected. Kickoff is 7 p.m., 30 minutes earlier thanthe August and September games, which were moved back because ofthe heat and humidity.

Lawrence County (4-1, 2-0) is on a roll. The Cougars are freshfrom a 63-31 trouncing of the McComb Tigers. They smashed Florence52-21 the previous week and Magee 51-20 three weeks ago.

“We haven’t been scoring all of these points on purpose,”explained LCHS head coach Mike Davis. “I hope folks understand thatwe are not trying to run up the score.”

Davis and Cougars boast a powerful rushing attack, led byAll-State senior running back Kendrick Hardy (6-1, 220), a majorcollege prospect who is being recruited by several SEC schools.

Hardy is complimented by a stable of strong runners. MatthewWells (6-2, 195, jr.) has size and speed. So does Josh Cameron(6-1, 190, jr.).

“Early in the season we had some injuries in our offensiveline,” said Davis. “We have been able to get some consistentoffensive play.”

On defense, the Cougars are led by linebacker Marcus Brown (6-0,195, jr.).

Davis knows the Panthers (3-1, 2-0) lost several standouts tograduation but they still have explosive potential. They are led bysenior quarterback Bud Britt, a pinpoint passer who has severalswift receivers.

“Brookhaven still looks pretty darn good,” said Davis. “Theiroffensive line is massive. They look like they have some magnets ontheir shoulder pads. You can’t get away from them.

“Bud Britt does a good job for them,” Davis pointed out. “Heseems to always find an open receiver. Their whole offensive linedoes a good job. Their defensive line looks very strong, too.”

Brookhaven is the defending division champion and Davis realizesthe importance of the game.

“We are so close together,” said Davis. “A lot of the kids knoweach other. If you are going to make a run at winning the district,Brookhaven is the favorite.”

Peavey Respects Cougars

“Lawrence County has a very sound defense and very soundoffense,” said Ole Brook head coach Tucker Peavey. “They have a lotof choices on offense.”

He said Hardy, Wells and Cameron are all outstanding rushers.”Their quarterback (Adam Watson) operates well, too. Theiroffensive line is blocking well and that allows them to do a lot ofthings.”

LCHS is versatile, running out of the Wing-T and theI-formation.

“They are putting a lot of points on the board,” said Peavey.”It’s a big district game for both of us. We are going to have toscore some points to beat them. I hope they don’t blow us out.”

Peavey’s Panthers are fresh from a 23-12 region win overMendenhall. Senior running back Clayton Winston scored all 3touchdowns. He replaced All-Region running back Semmie Smith whowas suspended for disciplinary reasons.

Peavey said Smith’s status for tomorrow night’s game wasundecided.

He said senior offensive tackle Quartez Lyons has been lost forthe season due to a knee injury sustained in the McComb game. Lyonsis scheduled for knee surgery this month. Martin Jones has replacedLyons at right tackle.

BHS Players of the Week for the Mendenhall game were quarterbackBud Britt, offense; lineman Cordai Henderson, defense; and IsaiahWilliams, special teams.

Britt completed 11 of 18 passes for 163 yards. Wide receiverDuwone Harris caught 6 passes for 85 yards. Teammate Trent Powellcaught 5 passes for 78 yards.

On defense, the Panthers were led by Henderson who made 8 solotackles, 5 assists and 1 sack. Isaac Jones had 6 solo stops and 5assists. Kendrell Brown made 6 solo stops and 2 assists. JawaunMerchant had 6 solos and 2 assists. Renaldo Epps had 5 tackles and1 interception.

Panther Paws: Last year at Monticello, Brookhaven rolled to a43-32 triumph over the Cougars, powered by quarterback Charles(Bobo) Rancifer who rushed for 228 yards and 2 touchdowns. He alsopassed for 68 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Lawrence County was led by Kendrick Hardy who rushed for 208yards and 3 touchdowns as the Cougars suffered their first setbackof the season. Both teams returned kickoffs for touchdowns: SimmieYarborough (BHS) and Wells.

Brookhaven has reeled off 6 straight wins over the Cougars sincelosing 59-13 in 2001.