It was a blackout and a shutout for Homecoming 2012 at Brookhaven Academy. The Cougars donned their black pants and black jerseys for Friday night’s celebration and buried Columbia Academy 41-0 on R.M. “Red” Stuard Field.

     The first District 5-AA test of the season was dominated by the home team. A pregame introduction of fireworks set the stage for quarterback Gage Posey’s lightning strikes. The 6-foot-3 senior completed 13 of 21 passes for 254 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also rushed 4 times for 67 yards, giving him 321 yards total offense.

     “My O-line gave me more than enough time to pass the ball,” said Posey. “It feels great to win homecoming.”

     Posey said the black uniform was his favorite. “Whenever we wear them, it seems like we always do good.”

     BA raised its record to 5-4 overall and 1-0 in the district race. Columbia, coached by former BA defensive coordinator Kenny Williams,  fell to 5-4 and 0-1.

     Posey said Columbia provided plenty of pregame incentive. “They’ve talked a lot of stuff  all week on Facebook and Twitter.”

     The host Cougars quickly silenced the visitors, roaring to a 35-0 halftime lead. They received the game-opening kickoff and went 80 yards in 5 plays. Posey’s 18-yard TD toss to Jacob Thurman and a PAT kick by Kevin Nettles made it 7-0 less than 2 minutes into the contest.

     The aerial blitz continued. Thurman took an 11-yard TD pass from Posey and Landon Nettles ran 3 yards for a score, making it 21-zip, still in the first quarter.

     Nettles plunged 3 yards for his second TD and Matthew Evans carried a Posey pass 13 yards to paydirt for a 35-0 lead. An interception by Heath Hickman set up the final score, an 80-yard drive.

     BA linebacker Preston Rawls had 6.5 tackles and an interception in the victory. “I was pretty fired up. We expected it to be a closer game  We figured we could stop them with our defense.”

     Landon Nettles led the BA defense with 10 tackles. Garrett Pace had 7 stops. Will Hickman intercepted a pass.

     The blitz continued early in the third quarter. Nettles took a swing pass from Posey and powered down the right sideline for a TD. The scoreboard clock continued rolling and it was 41-zip with 3:55 left.

     BA head coach Tripp McCarty complimented his squad. “I am really, really proud of the whole team. My coaches did a great job preparing our players.

     “There are teams that are faster and bigger than we are but we are a good, overall team and  a close-knit team,” McCarty noted. “They all worked their butts off this week.”

     McCarty said, “Gage threw it well and he had a long time to make some throws. We have some guys who can make plays. Our front five didn’t allow a sack tonight.”

     BA senior wide receiver Seth Rushing caught 7 passes for 158 yards.

     McCarty’s team travels to Natchez to face the ACCS Rebels in another District 5-AA test Friday night.