Bogue Chitto’s Owen Anderson and Brookhaven Academy’s Collin Waldrop are The Daily Leader Players of the Week.

Big night by Anderson clinched BC home playoff game

Bogue Chitto senior running back Owen Anderson and his classmates will get at least one more game on Troy Smith Field after clinching second place in Region 7-2A.

Saturday night against West Lincoln, Anderson was a workhorse carrying the ball in a 26-14 win. He rushed 17 times for 239 yards and a pair of scores. For his effort Anderson has been named The Daily Leader Offensive Player of the Week.

The Bobcats wrap up their regular season Friday night as they travel to Loyd Star for a Possum Bowl matchup.

After that, Bogue Chitto will host an opening round game when the MHSAA 2A playoffs begin on Nov. 5.

It’s the second time in three years for BC to finish runner-up in the region as they did the same thing in 2018. 

BC head coach Gareth Sartin is in year number 18 at the school and has seen the ebbs and flows that come with coaching small school football. The Bobcats went through a tough stretch from 2014-2016 after being a force in 1A football for a prolonged period.

They made the playoffs in 2017 though and have so in each of the three seasons since.

A big part of that renewed success has been the play of this senior class that were freshmen in 2017.

That year Anderson played in 10 games and rushed for 252 yards. As a sophomore, he ran for 800 yards and 11 touchdowns while also catching 19 passes for six more scores.

Last year wasn’t as fruitful for Anderson as he battled injuries throughout the season.

Watch him play and it’s not difficult to see how he might get nicked up from time to time. Anderson plays at a speed that few in this area operate at.

As a linebacker he looks like he’s trying to knock the ball carrier out of their cleats each time he goes in for a tackle.

“Owen is just so versatile,” said Sartin. “You can play him at receiver or at running back. He’s a tough, physical runner and he loves contact.”

Waldrop and Cougar

defense shut down BG

Brookhaven Academy football coach Ron Rushing was looking for leadership on the defensive side of the ball when his team hosted Bowling Green Friday in the regular season finale.

The Cougars have been hit hard by injuries on that side of the ball since before the season began as the BA staff has moved different guys into different spots as they look for the best fit.

Friday night, one of those adjustments was moving senior Collin Waldrop up from his position at safety to a linebacker spot — a role that he played well as a sophomore.

Waldrop answered the bell as he made a team-high six tackles including a pair of sacks in a 40-6 victory. For his efforts Waldrop has been named The Daily Leader Defensive Player of the Week.

“Collin is very deserving of this honor,” said Rushing. “We needed someone to step up at linebacker and he went out and had his best game of the season.”

The Cougars lost linebacker Trenton Tarver for the year to an injury in preseason practice. They’re also down another pair of defensive starters for the rest of the season in the senior duo of Cade Watson and Gavin Brogden.

Against Bowling Green, the Cougar defense had one of their best efforts of the season as they held the Bucs to 27 yards passing and just 131 rushing yards gained.

The win solidified the playoff seeding for BA ahead of the MAIS 4A playoffs that begin Friday.

The Cougars (6-4) are the no. 7 seed in the 12-team bracket and are facing a Lee Academy (4-5) squad that is seeded no. 10.

The winner will travel to Batesville next week to face no. 2 seed North Delta School.

The bracket sets up well for BA to make a deep playoff run if the stars align correctly.

The Cougars have two losses to teams in the playoffs, but both of them (Cathedral and Riverfield), are on the opposite side of the bracket.

The 4A state title game is scheduled for Nov. 20 at Jackson Academy.

“Lee has a good team,” said Rushing. “They aren’t going to throw it much, but what they do — they do well. We’ll need another strong effort from the guys on our defense.”