PRENTISS – Coming out of the Labor Day weekend, Brookhaven Academy Coach Tripp McCarty was looking for an error-free game going into his team’s match-up with the Prentiss Christian Saints, a newcomer to their district, and by the time the clock ran out, BA had notched a 28-6 victory.

Going into the game, McCarty had said, “We still believe that we have a championship team, but we’ve got to eliminate mistakes on both sides of the ball. We need to get off to a great start in our conference and put together some explosive plays while eliminating the negative ones.”

It looked as though the fireworks were going to come early and often as the Cougars marched quickly down field to pay dirt in less than three minutes behind the hot hand of junior quarterback Heath Hickman, who accounted for four touchdowns on the evening for BA.

The Cougars took the opening kickoff from their own 47-yard line and quickly pushed deep into Saints territory. A one-yard touchdown run by Hickman gave the Cougars the early 6-0 lead at the 9:01 mark of the first quarter.

After the Cougars and Saints swapped ball possession, an Ethan Harris blocked punt had the Cougars knocking on the door again at the PC 34-yard line. Standing firm on a fourth and one, the Saints turned back the Cougar’s dive play up the middle to take over on offense at their own 25-yard line and run out the first quarter.

Neither team could muster up much offense as the minutes ticked down in the second quarter with the Cougars holding a narrow 6-0 lead. A solid defensive stand by the Cougars forced a Saints punt that sailed off the side of the Prentiss Christian kicker’s foot and gave BA their best field position with only :33 to play in the half.

An eight-yard gain and then a holding penalty put BA back on the PC 39-yard line with just :03 left in the half. That’s when Hickman hit senior wide-out Ethan Harris streaking down the right sideline.

Shaking off two would be tacklers, Harris waltzed into the end zone as time expired in the half. Connor Dorman would add the two-point conversion run and give the Cougars a 14-0 lead at halftime.

Prentiss Christian was hoping to get right back into the ballgame as they took first possession of the second half. But Cougar cornerback Bailey Warren would have none of that, sliding in front of a Saints receiver to pick off their first pass attempt of the night and return the ball down to the PC 32-yard line.

A crucial Hickman to Jacob Thurman pass play put the Cougars close again, and Caleb Brown finished the job with a 12-yard catch and run from Hickman. Parker Myrick added the PAT to give the Cougars a comfortable 21-0 lead with 9:49 to play in the third.

Capitalizing on another Saints miscue, senior free-safety Steven Williams would pounce on a PC fumble near the midfield stripe and then finish the Cougars possession with a 25-yard over-the-shoulder catch from Hickman to cap off the scoring for the Cougars and give BA a 28-0 lead after the Myrick PAT as minutes ticked down in the third.

Prentiss would finally find the end zone late in the fourth quarter on a Tanner Hawthorne to Mason Berry pass play for 17 yards. The PAT kick failed and this would close the book on scoring for the night, giving the Cougars a 28-6 district win over the Saints.

Heath Hickman led the Cougar offensive attack, going 12 for 17 passing for 174 yards and three touchdowns. Hickman also rushed for one score on the night.

Connor Dorman directed the ground attack with 69 yards on 13 attempts. Steven Williams led the BA receivers with three catches for 53 yards and a score.

Caleb Brown also had three catches for 28 yards and a touchdown and Ethan Harris had one grab for 39 yards and the first half-ending touchdown to his credit.

Jason Hinton and Tyler Shivers had 52 and 31 yards, respectively, on the ground for the Saints, and quarterback Tanner Hawthorne was six for 12 for 53 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively for the Cougars, Bailey Warren collected eight tackles and grabbed a third quarter interception, Ethan Harris added had six and a half stops and a blocked punt, Brock Ezell and Collin Hall each had five tackles adding to the solid defensive effort for BA.

Defensive lineman Tramel Shedd had a fumble recovery and defensive back Ross Foreman made a leaping interception to squelch a Saint drive late in the fourth quarter.

After the game Coach Tripp McCarty said, “It’s good to get the win, especially a district game, but we still have to clean up some things to get ready for a good Bowling Green team.

McCarty went on to say, “These young men always give great effort, we just have to continue to concentrate on our execution and get better in that aspect of the game.”

The Cougars are on the road again next week traveling to Franklinton, La., to take on the Bowling Green Buccaneers. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.