Brookhaven Academy made sure that new head coach Bo Milton’sdebut would be successful Friday night as the Cougars whipped thevisiting Silliman (La.) Wildcats 28-6 in a turnover- plagueddefensive struggle Friday night. Pregame rainfall made holding ontothe football a difficult task from the opening kickoff until thefinal horn sounded.

“Our defense played well tonight,” said Coach Milton. “Bothteams had to battle turnovers and we were able to come out ahead inthat department and put some points on the board. Our defense did agreat job of keeping them out of the end zone.”

Silliman received the opening kickoff and traded possessionswith the Cougars throughout the first quarter. Brookhaven had itschance to score early but saw a sustained drive end inside theSilliman 10-yard line after a fumble.

Neither team was able register points through the first 18minutes of the game. Brookhaven senior quarterback Price Sessumsscored the first points of the young season, diving in from 1 yardout. The Cougars caught Silliman sleeping on the extra pointattempt and Sessums dashed into the end zone for the two-pointconversion, giving Brookhaven a 8-0 lead with 5:02 remaining in thefirst half.

The Wildcats met disaster on the ensuing drive, coughing up thefootball deep in their own territory and setting up Brookhaven atthe 30 yard line. Two plays later, Sessums reached the end zonefrom 24 yards out, pushing the Brookhaven lead to 14-0 going intothe intermission.

The third quarter unfolded much like the first, with both teamsbattling turnovers and stalled drives until Brookhaven scored on abusted-play, 60-yard pass and catch from Sessums to junior widereceiver Daniel Lofton. The Sessums pass was deflected off aWildcat defender and hit Lofton in the numbers, allowing Lofton tooutrun defenders to the end zone. Corey Dickerson added the PAT,giving the Cougars a 21-0 lead with 1:17 remaining in the thirdquarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, Silliman coughed up the football on itsown 20 yard line following a vicious hit from Cougar cover manKeith Franklin. On the very next play, Sessums hooked up withjunior wide receiver Seth Cliburn in the corner of the end zone,pushing the Brookhaven lead to 28-0 after Dickerson nailed thePAT.

Silliman’s only score of the night came with 1:54 remaining inthe game when quarterback Cameron Gentry connected with widereceiver Austin Hand from 31 yards out. The two-point attemptfailed, ending the scoring for the night at 28-6.

“Silliman is a good football team.” added Milton. “This gamecould have easily gone their way, but we were able to put someplays together and get points on the board.”

Sessums led the Cougar offense with 82 yards on 14 carries withtwo touchdowns. He was 2-7 passing for 80 yards and two touchdownswith 2 interceptions.

Bradley Allred followed in the rushing department with 10 yardson 7 attempts.

Lofton led all receivers with one catch for 60 yards and atouchdown. Cliburn had 20 yards on 1 reception for a touchdown.

Cameron Gentry led the Wildcats with 65 yards on 16 carries. Hewas 9 for 16 through the air for 117 yards and a touchdown.

On defense, Kolby Byrd led Brookhaven with 12tackles and a fumble recovery. Brandon Smith followed with 7 stopsand Franklin added 6 tackles, along with a fumble recovery. SawyerSmith was able to recover two fumbles and Russ Thames added one ofhis own

Brookhaven (1-0) travels to Amite, La., Friday to face OakForest in a non-district game. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.