SOSO – The Ole Brook Panthers came up a little short in their fourth quarter rally Friday night as the West Jones Mustangs held on to secure a 34-26 victory in Region 3-5A football action.

“We fell behind two touchdowns in the third quarter, but our guys did not quit,” said BHS coach Tommy Clopton. “The kids did a great job fighting back and we had a chance to win the game. Overall, I am proud of their effort and resilience, but we have got to figure out how to get that one last stop or make one more big play to win close games.”

Both teams provided an exciting defensive battle in the first quarter as neither school could score until the second quarter.

West Jones was the first team to break up the scoreless contest in the second quarter. Brandon Ray caught a 26-yard pass from Neil McLaurin.

Brookhaven quickly answered the Mustangs challenge with a touchdown of their own as senior running back Tre McDaniel plowed through to score on a 7-yard run. Tyler Mixon kicked the extra point to give the Panthers a 7-6 advantage.

McLaurin cashed in a rushing touchdown of 16 yards to put the Mustangs back on top midway through the second quarter.

Ole Brook fought back to tie the contest at 13-all on a Shaquan Richardson 34-yard touchdown reception from Jon Mark Mathis.

In the second half, West Jones came out and took control of the third quarter as they punched in two touchdowns. McLaurin cashed in his second rushing touchdown on a 12 yard run and threw his second passing touchdown as Jaylen Lindsay caught the 19-yard pass. Harris Hauenstein was successful on both the extra-point kicks as West Jones commanded a 27-13 advantage after three quarters of action.

In the fourth quarter, the Panthers rallied back and outscored the Mustangs 13-7 as McDaniels punched in his second rushing touchdown on a one-yard plunge. Mixon nailed the extra point to trim down West Jones lead to 27-20.

West Jones added another score to help keep the pressure on the Panthers as McLaurin bulldozed through Ole Brook’s defense with score a 4-yard rushing touchdown.

Ole Brook scored their final touchdown of the night on a 40-yard pass from Richardson to Thomas Poole. Mixon went for the extra-point kick but it was blocked

Offensively, McDaniel paced the Panthers with 62 yard rushing on 14 carries. Ken Boys contributed 45 yards rushing on eight carries.

Jon Mark Mathis completed 5-of-10 passes for 45 yards. Shaquan Richardson completed one pass for 40 yards.

Poole was the top receiver with one catch for 40 yards. Richardson had two catches for 29 yards.

Defensively, Leo Lewis powered Ole Brook’s charge with 12 tackles and a sack. Ben Robinson and Greg Watts contributed nine stops apiece. Darius O’Quinn had eight tackles and two sacks.

Ole Brook (3-4, 0-3) returns home next Friday to host South Jones for Homecoming. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.