Coming out of last week’s victory, Brookhaven Academy Coach Tripp McCarty was pleased with the progress his team was making but knew things would not get any easier with the No. 2 ranked Simpson Academy Cougars coming to town.

Prior to the contest on Friday night, McCarty commented about the upcoming match-up: “We have to be physical from start to finish and make tackles on first contact.” He continued, “Games like these, especially against a good team like Simpson, you have to make plays and get an entire team effort to be successful.”

As advertised, Simpson Academy came in with payback on their mind and hit the BA Cougars from the start. Led by a three-touchdown and 151-yard rushing night by tailback Daniel Taylor, SA took a 47-6 victory over Brookhaven Academy.

On BA’s first play from scrimmage Heath Hickman’s pass attempt to wide out Jacob Thurman was tipped high into the air and picked off by Simpson cornerback Kolby Burton, who returned the interception 21 yards for the quick defensive touchdown. Andrew Berry added the PAT to give SA the 7-0 lead in the first 15 seconds of the game.

After holding BA on their second possession Simpson would take over at their own 38-yard line and march downfield to set up quarterback Mason Herrin for an eight-yard TD run. Berry would add the point after and give the SA Cougars an early 14-0 lead.

Needing to answer, BA took possession at their own 20-yard line and quickly pushed into Simpson territory highlighted by a 25-yard acrobatic catch by Caleb Brown from Hickman. Senior tailback Landon Nettles would finish the drive on a pounding four-yard touchdown run. The PAT was blocked, settling the score at 14-6 with 4:38 to play in the first period.

Unfortunately for Brookhaven Academy, it would be their last time to see the end zone on the evening.

Simpson would tack on one additional touchdown in the first quarter, a 16-yard run by Maverick Harrison. Berry added the PAT to give the SA Cougars a 21-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Brookhaven Academy hoped the turn the tide in the second quarter but a relentless run game and a swarming defense from Simpson would hold the Cougars at bay. Simpson tailback Daniel Taylor had touchdown runs of four, six and 11 yards in a 10-minute span to put the game out of reach before halftime. Simpson quarterback Mason Herrin would get his second touchdown of the night on a 26-yard run with :28 seconds to play in the half and cap the scoring for both squads as the teams went to their locker rooms with Simpson leading 47-6.

Both teams traded possessions in the second half moving the ball primarily between the 20-yard lines as the clock ran out on the BA Cougars giving Simpson Academy the 47-6 victory.

After the contest, Coach Tripp McCarty reiterated his pre-game thoughts, “We knew we had to make tackles and we didn’t do that tonight. You can’t survive against a team like Simpson and not tackle well.”

He continued, “We have to get tougher for a full 48 minutes. We showed promise with the 80-yard touchdown drive to get back into the game, but we let them come back and dominate us physically from that point on.”

McCarty concluded, “After tonight’s game, our team understands that playing more physical is something that they individually have to do on each and every snap. I believe in these guys and without doubt believe they still have their best football of this season in front of them.”

Offensively, the BA Cougars were led by Heath Hickman, who had 42 yards on the ground and 67-yards through the air on five completions. Landon Nettles posted the only points for BA on a 4-yard touchdown run. Caleb Brown and Jacob Thurman both had 31 yards on two catches each.

Daniel Taylor led the Simpson ground attack with 151 yards on 14 carries and three touchdowns. Mason Herrin added 39 yards and two scores on just three carries for the game.

Defensively for BA, Tramel Shedd led the Cougars with 8 1/2 tackles. Ethan Harris and Bailey Warren added seven and a half and five stops on the night respectively.

The Cougars travel to Clinton, Louisiana next Friday to face the Silliman Institute Wildcats for a 7 p.m. kickoff in the heart of East Feliciana Parish.