Don’t let the 2-3 record fool you.

The Silliman Institute Wildcats are a very good football team. That’s the message that Brookhaven Academy head coach Ron Rushing has been giving his team this week as they prepare for a trip to Clinton, Louisiana Friday night to take on Silliman.

With Silliman’s losses coming to Bowling Green (4-1), Oak Forest (5-0) and Parklane (4-1), Rushing knows his team is in for a physical test.

“They’ve got a bunch of strong kids and they’re going to play physical on offense and defense,” said Rushing. “Our guys are going to have to respond to the challenge.”

Head coach T.J. Davis is in his 10th season at Silliman, and the Wildcats finished 4-7 in 2017. A member of the AAA division now, in 2015 Silliman finished 12-1 and won the MAIS AA state championship.

Brookhaven Academy (3-1) is coming off a 54-26 win over Ben’s Ford Christian School.

In that win, The Daily Leader Offensive Player of the Week — Nick Ogden — rushed for 144 yards on 10 carries while scoring four times.

Gunner Brister led the Cougar defense with 12 tackles, and Cole Griffin made seven tackles and a sack. Harrison Brownlee and Cohen Case had a fumble recovery apiece.

“We had a good week of practice and we’ve got to keep getting better and cleaning up our mistakes,” said Rushing.

The Cougars and Wildcats get things started at 7 p.m.

Story by Cliff Furr