MONTICELLO – Zach Smith had a dream nightin his first start at quarterback for the Brookhaven Panthers. The6-foot-1, 175-pound junior passed for three touchdowns and ran foranother in leading the Panthers to a 35-14 Thursday night victoryover Lawrence County’s Cougars.

    The sweat-soaked season opener was witnessed by a large crowd offans and students from both schools. It marked the head coachingdebut of Ole Brook’s Wade Henderson and the first startingassignment for many Panthers in what is expected to be a rebuildingyear.

    Smith watched most of last year’s games from the sidelines as thePanthers marched to the Class 5A state championship game. He wasready for  his first start,passing for 112 yards and rushing for 57.

    “Our offensive line did real well,” said Smith. “Ross Hill and FredTrevillion did a good job catching the ball. They have those bigframes.

    “That touchdown I threw to Fred was big but I  didn’t see it,” as he fell to theground. Smith’s first pass was for 25 yards and went to Trevillionwho made a diving catch at the goal line for a TD. Trevillion, asophomore, was seeing his first varsity action, too.

    Placekicker Stephen Davey also made his debut and was a perfect5-for-5 on extra points. He also launched a 43-yard punt.

    Senior wide receiver Ross Hill caught a pair of second half TDs for39 and 26 yards as the Panthers put the game out of reach. Juniorrunning back Justin Blue powered the ground attack with 85 rushingyards on 14 carries, including an 8-yard sprint around right endthat put the Panthers up 14-7 with 10:21 left in the firsthalf.

    Henderson received congratulations from friends and family afterthe game. He replaced Tucker Peavey at the helm in May when Peaveyretired from coaching after nine years at the helm.

    “This is my first one (win) but we have a lot of games to go,” saidHenderson. “Zach did a great job directing our offense.”

    Henderson reserved special praise for Brook’s defensive unit thatheld the Cougars’ vaunted double wing rushing attack to 208 yards.They bent but broke only once when LC’s Glenn Russell Jr. scored ona 3-yard plunge late in the third quarter.

    “Coach (Kelby) Bowman did a great job preparing our defense forthat double wing,” said Henderson. “Our kids were ready.”

    Defense provided the Cougars with their first touchdown of theseason. Working out of the shotgun formation, a high snap fromcenter sailed over Smith’s head. Before he could recover the ball,LC lineman Derrick Evans scooped it up and rumbled 19 yards to theend zone.

    Will Boyd’s PAT kick gained the hosts a 7-7 deadlock with 1:02 leftin the first quarter.

    The Panthers responded with a 55-yard scoring drive that wasignited by Blue’s kickoff return to the BHS 45. Six players later,Blue ran his right side and scored from 8 yards out. It was 14-7with 10:21 until halftime.

    A fumble on the ensuing kickoff, recovered by Terrell Buie at LC’s25, set up a first-down, 25-yard TD run by Smith. Only 15 secondselapsed and BHS led 21-7.

    LC head coach Mike Davis said he was impressed by the Panthers. “Wejust got outmanned tonight. Brookhaven has a good bunch and theirfront four on defense were impressive. Their linebackers flowed tothe ball real well.”

    Davis added, “We had a couple get hurt. Hopefully they’ll behealthy by next Friday,” when the Cougars host Magee.

    The Panthers play their first home game next Friday, hosting theHazlehurst Indians. Kickoff is 7:30 on King Field.

    McDonald led the Cougar attack with 14 carries for 79 yards.Russell gained 73 yards on 14 rushes.