MENDENHALL — The Copiah Academy Colonels clinched second placeand a berth in the State AA playoffs Friday night after knockingoff the Simpson County Academy Cougars 20-3 in District 4-AAfootball action.

With the win, Copiah improved to 8-1 overall and 2-1 in thedistrict. Simpson fell to 3-5 on the season and 1-2 in districtplay.

“It was good win for us” said Copiah first-year head coachScotty Cline. “It got us a spot in the playoffs. We hadn’t beatenSimpson since 1991.”

Copiah hosts district opponent Columbia Academy Friday night forthe final game of the regular season. The game begins at 7 p.m.

Colonel quarterback Daniel Sims directed the win and passed for260 yards. Hunter Greer had 8 catches for 139 yards.

Defensively, Alex Guess led Copiah with 8 tackles.

Chris Fitzgerald kicked a 35-yard field goal to put Simpson up3-0 in the first quarter.

Copiah punched in 10 points in the second quarter for a 10-3lead at halftime. Sims connected to wide receiver Hunter Greer fora 25-yard touchdowns pass. Richard Henley kicked his first of 2PATs and followed with a 44-yard field goal.

In the third quarter, Sims found Greer open for a 26-yardtouchdown that pushed the lead to 17-3 over the hosts.

Henley nailed his second field goal of the game from 33-yardsout to give Copiah a 20-3 lead and eventual win over Simpson.