Brookhaven Academy welcomed the Rebels of Adams County ChristianSchool to R. M. “Red” Stuard Field Friday night for the first roundof the MAIS AA State playoffs looking to make a successful statechampionship run. ACCS head coach Paul Hayles knew that his Rebelshad to keep the high powered Cougar offense off the field for histeam to author a huge upset, but that task proved nearly impossiblefor the visitors from Natchez.

Brookhaven whipped ACCS 52-28, thanks to a powerful rushingperformance that helped the Cougars pile up 317 yards on the groundand race to a 42-13 halftime lead. BA improved to 11-1 on theseason and advances to host playoff newcomer Cenla Christian in thesecond round. ACCS Christian ends its season at 8-4.

“We knew we had our hands full with Brookhaven with the kind ofnumbers they put up offensively.” said Hayles. “We made a couple ofmistakes and didn’t convert on opportunities when we had them andbefore we knew it, they had pulled away. But I’m proud of my kids.They got down early and still played hard the whole game. We hateto see our season end this way but Brookhaven is a really goodteam.”

ACCS appeared to grab momentum early in the game after a successfulonside kickoff attempt gave the Rebels the ball at the Brookhaven48 yard line. But BA’s defense did its job and forced the Rebelsinto a punting situation. Rebels punter Rusty Blackwell saw thesnap sail over his head, giving the Cougars the ball at the Rebels37 yard line.

It took just one snap for BA to find the end zone as quarterbackChandler Rogers connected with Bubba Keene on a 37-yard strike atthe 7:41 mark of the first quarter. Tyler Trout added the extrapoint for a 7-0 Brookhaven lead.

Brookhaven reached the end zone again at the 4:15 mark of the firstquarter, capping a seven play, 56 yard drive that ended with LandonNettles scoring on a 14 yard run, making it 14-0.

ACCS put its first points on the board on the ensuing drive, moving68 yards in 7 plays before Brandon Sanders scored on a 30-yard runwith 1:05 remaining in the first quarter. Johnny Smith added theextra point, cutting the Brookhaven lead to 14-7.

Brook responded at the 7:43 remaining in the first half as Rogersscored on a 9 yard run, upping the lead to 21-7.

ACCS responded quickly as Kent Yates connected with Daniel Guedonfrom 27 yards out with 6:13 left in the first half. C.J. Duckworthblocked the extra point attempt, allowing Brookhaven to have a21-13 lead.

The BA offense exploded in the final five minutes of the first halfas the Cougars were able to put three scores on the scoreboardbefore the break. Rogers connected with Jennings Mills from 8 yardsout at the 4:48 mark, pushing the Brookhaven lead to 28-13. Nettlesadded a 15 yard run at the 2:13 mark and Rogers connected withKeene from 26 yards out with 1:31 remaining in the half, givingBrookhaven a 42-13 lead at the break.

Nettles opened the scoring of the second half at the 6:06 mark ofthe third quarter on a 12 yard run, capping a 10 play, 59 yarddrive. Trout added a 25 yard field goal with 9:19 left in the gameto push the BA’s lead to 52-13.

ACCS got a 3-yard run from Zack Day with 6:05 remaining and added a28 yard run from Tyler Buckles with 2:33 left to end the scoring at52-28.

“We had a solid performance tonight.” said BA head coach HerbertDavis. “Our offensive and defensive lines dominated the line ofscrimmage, and except for two deep balls and two turnovers, weplayed pretty well.

“We were able to put it out of reach early and get the younger guysin and get our starters some rest. Now we just have to get readyfor another challenge next week.”

Nettles led the Brookhaven offense, picking up 144 yards on 16carries with three touchdowns. Rogers completed 9 of his 15 passattempts for 141 yards and two touchdowns. He added 60 yards on 9carries with another touchdown on the ground. Bubba Keene was theleading receiver, hauling in 4 passes for 82 yards and twotouchdowns.

Kent Yates led ACCS offensively, completing 4 of his 18 passattempts for 74 yards with a touchdown. On the ground he added 46yards on 8 carries. Brandon Sanders added 44 yards on 13 carrieswith a touchdown.

On defense, Alan Michael Allred led BA with 11 tackles and a fumblerecovery. Bailey Hodge added 9 stops in support. Duckworth, JeffRushing, and Hayden Hux each added 7 tackles in support.

Brookhaven hosts Cenla Christian of Pineville, La. Friday night inthe second round of the MAIS AA state playoffs. Kickoff is set for7 p.m.