Hunting revenge, the Brookhaven Panthers are looking forward toa rematch against the Wayne County War Eagles. That opportunityarrives Friday night on King Field when the Panthers host the WarEagles for the Class 5A South State semifinals. Kickoff is 7p.m.

In the last meeting, Oct.1 on King Field, Wayne Co. escaped witha hard-fought, 27-20 victory. Since that time, the War Eagles(10-2) have lost only to Region 3-5A champion West Jones. ThePanthers (7-4) have strung together four straight wins, including a23-21 playoff win last Friday over Region 4-5A No. 1 seed LongBeach.

Ole Brook head coach Tucker Peavey said he believes his Pantherswill be highly motivated Friday night. “I hope we have a revengemotive. It’s a big playoff game and it’s somebody we are familiarwith. “

In the other South State 5A playoff game, West Jones hostsVancleave. South finals are Nov. 25.

In the North 5A semifinals tomorrow, Oxford hosts West Point andNew Hope hosts Ridgeland.

While Brookhaven was upsetting Long Beach 23-21 last Friday,Wayne County was eliminating Moss Point 35-28.

Peavey said War Eagles coach Marcus Boyles will have his teamready to play. Boyles achieved the 200-victory plateau in theearlier win over BHS. His teams only have 28 losses in a 16- yearcoaching career that includes five state championships.

“We are in pretty good shape right now,” said Peavey.”Hopefully, we are a better team than last time. I’m sure they willbetter, too. We are looking for a different outcome.”

Back in October, the Eagles surged to a 21-7, third quarter leadbefore BHS rallied. WC quarterback Chuck Lacey passed for twotouchdowns, hooking up with Randy Pettus on scoring tosses of 56and 30 yards. Lacey completed 10 of 15 passes for 200 yards.

Dewayne Davis rushed 25 times for 90 yards to lead WC’s groundattack. Ralph Bowman and Jarvis Chambers scored TDs on shortruns.

The Panthers got 15 rushes for 102 yards and 2 TDS fromquarterback Duwone Harris. Running back Travorius Showers rushedfor 54 yards and a TD. Harris also completed 7 of 17 passes for 101yards.

Peavey said he’s confident his Panthers will play hard againstthe Eagles. “Duwone is playing hard and making some good decisions.Overall as a team we are playing better.”

Long Beach Rehashed

Against Long Beach, Harris rushed 21 times for 155 yards and 1TD. He completed 3 of 11 passes for 90 yards, including a 64-yuardTD toss to Ross Hill. Showers rushed for 89 yards on 15carries.

Dewey Stailey kicked the go-ahead field goal in the thirdquarter, making a 20-yarder.

The big plays came on defense as Greg Sims returned aninterception 41 yards for a TD. Malcolm Stewart and Kalen Calcotealso intercepted passes. Calcote finished with 9 tackles. JaboreePoole made 6 tackles. Stewart, Jacoby Cooper and Shamonte Brookseach had 5 stops and Stewart recovered a fumble.

“On defense, we made some big plays,” said Peavey. “We got goodpressure on their quarterback, especially in the second half.

“We are looking for a big crowd,” Peavey noted. “Wayne Countywill bring a large group.”

BHS Lineup

Working in Brook’s offensive backfield are Harris and Showers,with Justin Blue providing support at running back. The widereceivers are Trent Powell, Ross Hill, Sherrod Gray and JoelPatrick. Nick Peavey and Phillip Hamilton are the tight ends.

Brook’s offensive line includes Mitch Case at center, TameusHooker and Tyler Collins at guard and Stone Underwood and SamBallard at tackle. Dewey Stailey kicks and punts.

On defense, the ends are Jaboree Poole an Thevis Cooper. Thetackles are Chance Smith and Jawaun Merchant. Inside linebackersare Kalen Calcote and Jacoby Cooper. Outside linebackers areShamonte Brooks and Jonah Hill.

The secondary includes Greg Sims and E.J. Henderson atcornerback. The free safety is Chris Seals.