On a rainy Friday night, the Brookhaven Panthers roared to a34-0 halftime lead and began thinking about the homecoming dance.,The Panthers coasted to a 41-12 victory over the winless PearlRiver Central Blue Devils in Region 3-5A action.

Brookhaven evened its overall record at 3-3 and climbed to 1-2in the Region 3-5A race, bouncing back from a 45-7 loss last weekat Wayne County. PRC remained winless in seven games and fell to0-3 in the region, after losing 45-0 to Stone County last week.

Ole Brook senior safety Jeffery Newton was happy to win hisfinal homecoming game in a BHS uniform. He was looking forward tothe homecoming dance, too.

“It feels good to win my last homecoming game,” said Newton. “Weplayed more as a team instead of individuals tonight.”

Newton and his teammates limited PRC to just 47 yards totaloffense and 2 first downs in the first half. Homecoming queenAshley Jackson and her court sought refuge from the rain before thefirst quarter had concluded. By then, the Panthers were up14-0.

Panther quarterback Duwone Harris showcased his talents in thefirst half, running for two touchdowns and completing 8 of 14passes for 68 yards. He only carried once in the second half andfinished with 123 yards on 7 carries.

Harris, along with running backs Travorius Showers and IsaiahWhite, helped take up the slack for leading rusher Semmie Smith whowas suspended for disciplinary reasons.

The Panthers ignited the partisan crowd early as Greg Simsreturned the game-opening kickoff 62 yards for a touchdown. Harrisran 39 and 15 yards for first-half TDs. Showers and White scoredfrom 27 and 10 yards out.

Ole Brook head coach Tucker Peavey said Smith’s status forfuture games would be on a day-to-day basis. He said he was happyto notch a homecoming win but saw room for improvement.

“We didn’t have the intensity we needed when the game started,”said Peavey. “Our offensive line started blocking better after thefirst series.

“This was the best throwing game we’ve had and it was in theworst conditions,” he added.

The offensive line helped the Panthers amass 280 yards totaloffense.

Asked about his team’s second half touchdowns, PRC head coachJeremy Weir said, “It was too little, too late. At least my playersdidn’t quit on me. We are a young team.”

Weir said the Panthers impressed him. “I look for Brookhaven tomake a run in our district and it’s the toughest district in thestate of Mississippi. Brookhaven is well coached and they have alot of class. They showed sportsmanship, too.”

The Devils got their offense on track in the third quarter.After halting the Panthers on fourth down at the PRC 36, they begana 16-play drive that climaxed with Bryce Spence plunging the final3 yards over left tackle.

One play earlier, running back Jacob Smith limped off the fieldwith a leg injury. Smith had carried 18 times for 66 yards beforeexiting.

Spence continued to carry much of the load on PRC’s nextpossession. The Devils used 10 plays to cover 66 yards, including a17-yard pass from quarterback Nick Miller to wide receiver DustyLewis that gave them a first down at Brook’s 43-yard line.

Spence went the final 2 yards to paydirt and the Devils trailed34-12 with 3:02 left to play. He finished with 18 carries for 79yards.

Peavey was happy to win homecoming but said he was disappointedwith this defense allowing the long, third-quarter drive thatconsumed 9 minutes.

His Panthers invade Picayune for their next region test. PRChosts the McComb Tigers for region action Friday night.