Still basking in the glow of a state football championship,Brookhaven Academy’s Will Gatlin, Clint “Stump” Stewart, and TrippJolly are busy preparing for Friday Night’s Mississippi Associationof Independent Schools All-Star Football Game. It kicks off at 6p.m., in Mississippi College’s Hale-Robinson Stadium inClinton.

Parklane Academy coach Bo Milton will serve as head coach forthe South squad. There will be an all-star banquet Friday at noon,on MC’s campus.

For sure, Gatlin, Stewart and Tripp Jolly are looking forward toFriday night. A week earlier, they helped the Cougars capture theClass AA state championship as they whipped Lamar School ofMeridian 63-28.

It was a glorious night for the Cougars who won it all andfinished 15-0. A crowd of 3,000 witnessed the event on Harper DavisField, located on the Millsaps College campus in Jackson.

Brookhaven Academy head coach Herbert Davis said the local triowas instrumental in the team’s success. They reported Tuesday forthree days of practice leading up to the classic.

“Tripp was a pure, deep-ball threat,” said Davis. “He hasphysical ability and agility to run good routes.”

Jolly (6-0, 165) is known for leaping, acrobatic catches. He hasrun a 4.6 in the 40-yard dash. He bounced back from a concussionsustained in the first half of BA’s South State championship gameagainst River Oaks of Monroe, La. He caught two touchdown passesfrom quarterback Chandler Rogers in the state title game, covering15 and 77 yards.

Stewart (6-1, 250) anchored BA’s front line in what began as amajor rebuilding year on Aug. 21. He worked on offense anddefense.

“Clint is a very strong, physical kid,” said Davis. “He playedboth ways for us. He has worked hard to become a good footballplayer. He never missed a day when we worked out.”

Slowed by a painful, lower back ailment, Gatlin (6-3, 252) haddecided to give up football last summer and concentrate onbaseball. Fortunately, Gatlin changed his mind and returned to thefootball team. He started in the front trenches on offense anddefense.

“Will really was an asset for us,” said Davis. “He learned howmuch he missed the game. He stepped up as a leader for us and hehad fun playing football.”

Davis said Gatlin could have a future in college football if hecares to pursue that activity. “Will has pretty good feet and runswell for a big guy. He has been our best defensive lineman the lasttwo years.”

Davis said Co-Lin has talked to Gatlin about playing for theWolfpack. Belhaven has taken a look at him. He also plays firstbase in baseball.

Brookhaven Academy’s Cinderella ride to the AA state title ishistory but the memories will linger forever. It was remarkablewatching them put points on the scoreboard with that spreadoffense.

Certainly, Rogers (6-3, 178) has a golden arm and he runs theball well, too. He amassed over 4,000 yards total offense and hascaught the interest of several Division I schools.

For Davis, last Friday night was a happy occasion. He won hisfirst state championship at BA in 1993 before departing for 15years. He also won the AAAA title at Greenwood Pillow in 1997. HisWinston Academy team was runner-up in 1991. His Columbus Heritageteams were runners-up in 2003 and ’05.

We enjoyed watching the energetic Davis pace the sidelines. Helectured and encouraged his players.

His steady conversation with the referee and the officiatingstaff was fascinating. Obviously, his defensive unit was stretchedto the limits trying to defend Witt Haggard, Lamar School’sstrong-armed, senior quarterback.

Some pass interference calls were apparent but others werequestionable.

“Hey, ref, this isn’t powder puff,” bellowed Davis after ayellow flag was thrown. “This is contact football. The players arewearing helmets and pads.”

To their credit, the Cougars wore down Lamar in the second halfwith hard-nosed defense and an aggressive rushing attack that keptthe ball out of Haggard’s hands. Like the old ball coach once said,”Defense wins championships.”

Davis had two dedicated assistant coaches working with him inKenny Williams and Robert Young. Like the players, they shared inthe glory after the game.

The next step is raising money for the state championship rings.Those chunks of metal and jewels are around $350 apiece.

This is a big weekend for the Mississippi High School ActivitiesAssociation’s State Football Championships at Mississippi VeteransMemorial Stadium in Jackson. Six class champions will bedetermined, starting with Mount Olive versus Durant tonight at7.

Lincoln County native Anthony Hart has his Lafayette CountyCommodores (14-1) in the Class 4A state title game Saturday againstSt. Stanislaus (13-1) which is led by rifle-armed quarterback DylanFavre. Obviously, the ‘Dores must play outstanding pass defense topull out a victory.

Hopefully, the natural grass field will survive six games inthree days after a week of rain. It could be a muddy, uglymess.

Write to sports editor Tom Goetz, c/o The DAILY LEADER, P.O. BOX551, Brookhaven, MS 39602 or e-mail sports@dailyleader.com