GALLMAN – The Copiah Academy Colonels marched past the Brookhaven Academy Cougars in a 43-7 victory Friday night in MAIS action.

The Colonels, under the direction of coach Paul Anderson, came out on fire and dominated the first half as they hammered the Cougars with a 43-point outburst.

In the first quarter, Copiah Academy jumped out to an early 36-0 lead, led by Landon Murphy’s 27, 9 and one-yard rushing touchdowns. Johnny Causey also provided a 28-yard rushing touchdown.

Quarterback Dalton Hayes provided the offensive spark to ignite the explosion with a 35-yard passing touchdown to McQuell Powell. Jonathan Martinez finished the night a perfect 5-of-5 on the extra-point kicks.

In the second period, the Colonels scored the final touchdown of the game when Causey punched in a four-yard rushing touchdown with 1:09 left.

In the second half, the clock continued to run as Copiah Academy commanded a 43-0 lead until the fourth quarter.

Brookhaven Academy managed to break up Copiah’s bid for a shutout with 7:45 remaining when junior quarterback Madison Smith hooked up with sophomore receiver Price King for a 52-yard touchdown pass. Nic Cizner was successful on the extra point attempt.

Offensively, Copiah finished with 278 yards total offense. Brookhaven Academy’s final total was 103 yards.

Madison Smith was the leader for BA as he completed 10-of-29 passes for 85 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

King led all receivers with four catches for 54 yards. Grant James caught two passes for 17 yards.

For the Colonels, Landon Murphy led the ground attack with eight carries for 100 yards. Johnny Causey contributed 62 yards rushing on eight carries.

Dalton Hayes completed 2-of-3 passes for 70 yards, one touchdown and one interception. McQuell caught both passes for 70 yards.

Defensively, Roger Rushing powered the Cougars with 13 tackles and had one tackle for a loss. Carter Culbertson provided 11 tackles. Connor Griffin had six stops. Fisher Warren finished with five tackles and had a tackle for a loss. King intercepted a pass.

The Cougars, coached by Blake Purvis, finished their season winless with a 0-10 record. The Colonels (7-3, 2-2) will be in action Friday as they travel to Hattiesburg to take on the Presbyterian Christian Bobcats. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.