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PHOTO BY CLIFF FURR From left, the defensive line group of Christian Jones, Gaylon Gayten and Fabian Washington II looks for a play call earlier this year at Lawrence County.

PHOTO BY CLIFF FURR Brookhaven High linebackers DJ Washington, standing left, and Hampton Smith, standing right, get ready for the snap behind defensive end Derwin Fields, foreground.

FILE PHOTOS Brookhaven High Defensive Back Jamaal Brown and Linebacker William Buie.

FILE PHOTOS Brookhaven High Defensive Backs Rameriaze Edwards and Dreamus Harron Jr.

FILE PHOTOS Brookhaven High Defensive Back EJ Ratliff.

The fun part about this job is getting to decide what you write about and how you write about it. Choosing a player of the week is never done lightly, as the goal is to always take into account the difficulty of the opponents, the outcome of the games, and the ability to spread the honors out to as many teams and players as possible.

If you can remember back though, this individual honor can be repeatedly received, as the author sees fit. There were times when Ahmad Hardy (Lawrence County) and Xavier Gayten (Brookhaven High) could have traded it off OPOW every week last season, but we do try to spread the love.

In my first year of editing this section, I gave Offensive Player of the Week to an offensive line at Lawrence County that could open some big holes to run through. That was a group that your eye would be drawn to with their cohesion when watching the Cougars play.

It feels the same way this season when I watch the Brookhaven High defense take the field together. For their collective efforts in pitching a second half shutout last week in a 32-14 region win over Florence, the BHS defense has been named The Daily Leader Defensive Players of the Week.

The Panthers have plenty of talent on the offensive side of the ball too, but they are young and are still gelling together. There are moments of greatness followed by a penalty or blown assignment.

The defense is such an interesting mix of younger and older and with so many competitive personalities. Florence presented an offense that can switch in and out of multiple formations and use the pass effectively to move the ball.

The Eagles carved up the Brookhaven High defense to finish their first drive with a Florence tight end standing all alone in the endzone for a wide-open touchdown catch.

BHS defensive coordinator Corey McLaurin was irate with his guys, lighting into them as they gathered on the benches. Other members of the staff studied tablets, seeing who’d been out of position.

Changes were made, coaching was given and received, and Brookhaven High was nearly perfect the rest of the night on that side of the ball. The only other time that the Eagles scored, they had taken over near midfield following a turnover by BHS.

Florence went under center on that possession, and started running the ball to the perimeter, where they picked up some blocks on the edge by wide receivers.

One of those runs, a jet-sweep going to the right, ended with a Florence player plunging into the endzone to pull his team to within 17-14 before halftime.

This time when Brookhaven High came to the bench, the coaches were doing less directing as the players were chiding each other for mistakes. Arguing is not always a bad thing in sports, among teammates. It shows passion, as long as it’s not done perpetually.

If this team has a heartbeat, it has to be senior defensive tackle Christian Jones who’s making the blood pump.

Someone came up to me on the sideline after the first couple games of the season and asked, “Where did this Christian Jones kid come from?”

Jones finished with two sacks last season as a junior and through seven games in 2024 he’s already brought the opposing quarterback down 10 times thus far.

He is playing with great effort and intensity on every play, as his ability to cause disruption up the middle can often draw the attention of a double team. 

The 5-foot-11, 230-pound Jones is violent with his hands as he fights off blocks and works up field. Jones had 10 tackles, including two for a loss in the win over Florence. He also had a sack, a quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery.

Beside him at tackle is 5-foot-11, 260-pound junior Fabian Washington II. Washington was good against the run and had five stops in the win over Florence.

Sophomore Derwin Fields saw action last season as a ninth grader, and he gets better every game this season. Standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 190 pounds, Fields uses quickness and deceptive strength to blow past defenders. Fields had six tackles, one tackle for a loss, and a sack against Florence.

The other defensive end is 6-foot-3, 260-pound senior Gaylon Gayten. Gayten was near impossible to block at times during his junior season. He played some of his best ball of the season in the second half on Friday as he pressured the Eagle passing game.

Strong line play up front creates tackling opportunities for linebackers and Brookhaven High had the second level of its defense cleaning up against Florence. 

Freshman linebacker Hampton Smith had 12 tackles, including one for a loss and a forced fumble. Junior linebacker DJ Washington chipped in 11 tackles and senior linebacker William Buie made 10 tackles. Washington had a tackle for a loss while Buie recovered a fumble and posted a sack.

Those three all show a willingness to attack the ball carrier, especially when McLaurin sends them up the middle on the blitz.

Roaming the backend of the formation are two defensive backs in Dreamus Harron Jr. and EJ Ratliff that are also standouts on the baseball field. Both juniors, Harron had an interception that he returned for 21 yards in the win over Florence while Ratliff made three stops and also returned a punt for a touchdown. 

Gayten, Jones, and Buie are joined as senior starters for the unit by defensive backs Jamaal Brown and Rameriaze Edwards. Brown stands 5-foot-6 and Edwards is two inches taller, but the pair pack a wallop when they hit an offensive player. Edwards has won multiple state powerlifting championships during his time at BHS.

Both had five tackles each against Florence with Edwards snagging an interception that he returned for 22 yards while also forcing a fumble.

Collectively, the Panthers have created 18 turnovers through their first six games and will look to keep that same energy when they travel to Jackson this week to play the Provine Rams.

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