MENDENHALL — Eleven weeks ago the Brookhaven Academy Cougar football team left Simpson Academy’s field,  wincing from a narrow 17-13 loss but feeling that the game was theirs for the taking.

      Fast forward to Friday night and BA was playing like a well-oiled machine, clicking on all cylinders. The Cougars overcame a  slow start to beat defending MAIS Class AA state champion Simpson 21-17 in a revenge match.

     Brookhaven Academy (10-4) will face  Class AA North State Champion Marshall Academy  Friday at 5:30 p.m. on the campus of Millsaps College. Marshall eliminated North Delta 23-21 in the North title game.

          BA coach Tripp McCarty was exhausted but pleased after the hard fought contest. “I have never been around a group of young men that continue to show so much character.  Regardless of the situation, never forgetting that it’s usually going to come down to them making something happen to change the outcome of the game. They have responded in some crucial moments the past few weeks.”

     Brookhaven Academy took the opening possession pinned back at their 13-yard line.  On the first play from scrimmage Simpson cornerback Andrew Berry stepped in front of a Gage Posey slant pass and waltzed untouched into the end zone for the quick interception and touchdown.  Berry added the PAT for a 7- 0 lead, just 15 seconds into the game.

     Posey had his second pass attempt intercepted   at the BA 44, setting Simpson up with great field position.  The BA defense  stiffened and forced a punt back to the Cougars, avoiding catastrophe.

     After trading possession, a Daniel Taylor 46- yard run pushed the ball down to the BA 23. Three plays later, Berry took it up the middle for an 11-yard touchdown run. Berry tacked on the PAT to give SA a 14-0 lead at the 4:51 mark of the 1st quarter.

     After a touchback on the kickoff, BA found themselves 80 yards away from the end zone. That’s when Posey went to work, ripping off back to back runs of 20 and 21 yards; then mixing in passes to wide out Seth Rushing.

     The Cougars pushed deep into Simpson territory but faced a fourth down and goal at the Simpson 1-yard line.  Posey called his own number with a plunge off left tackle for the score.  Kevin Nettles added the PAT and pulled the Cougars closer at 14-7.

     BA senior Colby Culbertson said after the contest, “Our coaches told us we played our least productive half of the season but we were still in the ballgame; so we knew we could take control of the game in the second half if we played BA football.”

      Simpson mounted a late, 3rd quarter drive but settled for a 35-yard Berry field goal with 2:57 remaining in the quarter, giving them a 10 point cushion at 17-7.

     Momentum began turning. Looking like a cross between a world renown symphony orchestra conductor and a third base coach giving signals to a hitter in the batter’s box, Coach McCarty picked up the pace, flashing plays from the BA sideline to his no-huddle offense on the field.       The Cougars responded with an 80-yard drive, highlighted by a 25-yard Posey to Caleb Brown pass play that set up a 25-yard touchdown run by Posey at the 10:47 point of the 4th quarter.  Nettles added the PAT to pull the Cougars within three points, at 17-14. 

     Simpson took possession with 10 minutes to play hoping to put some security points on the board.  BA forced a SA punt and took over at their  8-yard line with 7:39 to play.

      The BA Cougars pushed it out to the 17-yard line but faced a 4th down and one yard to go, and a huge decision at that point.  Without much hesitation, McCarty called on Posey and he responded with a short run and a new set of downs to work with.

        Before Simpson could catch their breath, Posey broke around the right end and took it up the Simpson sideline for a 62-yards  down to the SA 1-foot line.  He called his own number and stuck it in for his third touchdown   and the go ahead TD.  Nettles remained perfect on the night with the PAT and gave BA their first lead at 21-17 with 4:36 to play.

     Simpson began their ensuing drive trailing for the first time, at their own 32-yard line.  After two short run plays Simpson quarterback Josh Hankins went to the air on a third and long, only to be picked off in the BA secondary by Posey, who had been inserted at free safety.

     Wanting to eat up the last 3:07 and not give the ball back to Simpson, it was gut-check time for the Cougars on a 3rd down and 15 yards to go at their own 35.  Posey somehow escaped through a wall of defenders and managed to fall forward at the 49 1/2 yard line but a half-yard short of the first down.

       After a Simpson timeout and a subsequent BA timeout, the decision was made by the BA coaching staff.  There were six inches between them and the championship game A shotgun snap to Posey saw him crash off left tackle for a first down to seal the victory in Blue and White.

     When asked about the decision to go for it on fourth down at the end, Posey said, “There was no doubt we were gonna go for it.  I told our coaches in the timeout, ‘We’ll get the first down; just give us a shot at it.'”

     McCarty said, “I have to also mention the play of our offensive line, especially the second half, and our bend but don’t break defense that held a real good football team to 10 offensive points tonight.”

  Leading the defense for BA were Preston Rawls and Culbertson with 8 tackles each. Seth Rushing added 7 stops and Tanner Parvin and Will Hickman each contributed six.

       Parvin also averaged 38.3 yards on 4 punts.       Offensively the Cougars were led by  Posey who rushed for 168 yards and 3 touchdowns and completed 8 of 14 passes for 96 yards.

       Michael Fiorella rushed for 46 yards, drawing his first starting assignment of the season. He was subbing for junior running back Landon Nettles who sustained a head injury in the previous week’s win over Lamar School.

       MAIS leading receiver Seth Rushing had 5 catches for 61 yards.

     Simpson’s Daniel Taylor rushed 25 times for 153 yards.