There was no single hero who won the football game for Brookhaven High on Friday night against their old rivals from McComb High in the 107th meeting between the schools.

Playing before a packed home side of King Field, the 5A Panthers got winning plays from guys up and down the roster in taking the best shots the 4A Tigers could muster and answering every time in a 24-14 win that moved Brookhaven High to 4-0 on the season.

Luckily for those fans rooting for the Panthers, the end of the game was better than the start.

McComb sophomore defensive back Delwin Perkins snatched an interception and returned it to the BHS 30-yard line to end the first possession of the game for the home team. Perkins ended the night with a pair of interceptions.

On their third offensive snap of the game, left-handed quarterback Jaquan Lizana hit a slanting Sheldon Isaac for a 9-yard touchdown pass that put McComb ahead 7-0.

McComb scored 39 points in a win over Jim Hill to start the season and 50 points in a loss to Natchez in week two, powered by a potent passing game.

The Brookhaven High defense, which nearly pitched a shutout last week in a 10-7 win over 7A Pearl High, would not give up another touchdown to the McComb offense after that short-field score to start the game.

The Ole Brook offense went to the ground to find an answer and got a 42-yard touchdown run from junior Caiden Quarles to tie things up with 6:51 left in the first quarter.

There have been some talented running backs to take the field for BHS in this rivalry, with recent names like Xavier Gayten, Ronnie McNulty, and Charles Wilson being the type of every-down backs that head coach Tucker Peavey has built his offense around during a long tenure at Brookhaven High.

Quarles looks like the next in that lineage as he put in a yeomen-like effort in helping keep the Brookhaven offense moving behind a big, young offensive line, finishing with 175 yards on 24 rushes.

That 7-7 score held through halftime as neither team could build much momentum offensively. Junior Dreamus Harron Jr. had another outstanding night punting the ball for Brookhaven High, as he had one punt downed at the 1-yard line and another downed at the 4-yard line in the first half.

The Panthers started the second half out with a little trickery, recovering an onside kick to begin the third quarter, but BHS coughed the ball back up via a fumble on their third play after the recovery.

The Panther defense answered the bell to get the ball back for the offense following the turnover.

It would be selfish to call out just one player on the defense for Brookhaven High.

 Reigning Daily Leader All-Area Defensive Player of the Week Christian Jones was again a terror from his defensive tackle position. Junior Fabian Washington II lines up beside Jones and on the ends the Panthers have 6-foot-4 senior Gaylon Gayten and 6-foot-3 sophomore Derwin Fields.

Those four gave the five offensive linemen from McComb more than they could handle, allowing junior linebacker DJ Washington and freshman linebacker Hampton Smith to crash through the line and apply pressure every time the Tigers attempted to pass.

The defensive backfield is filled with guys like EJ Ratliff, Jamall Brown, Rameriaze Edwards, and Harron who all fly to the ball when a tackle needs to be made.

And there is depth in the unit, as defensive coordinator Corey McLaurin ran players in and out, switching from a 4-man front to a 3-man front when McComb was in an obvious passing down.

BHS went up 14-7 with 3:15 left in the third quarter when Quarles ripped off a 43-yard touchdown run.

It felt like the Ole Brook fanbase could exhale with the lead, but that feeling didn’t last long, as McComb answered with a 90-yard kickoff return for a score by the speedy Isaac.

Sophomore kicker, Isaac Iles, a first-year football player, calmy hit a 27-yard field goal to put the Panthers ahead for good late in the third quarter by a 17-14 advantage.

The win was put away for the Panthers when sophomore quarterback Jaden Allen showed his breakaway speed with a 55-yard touchdown run with 8:39 remaining in the game.

“What an effort by the defense,” said Peavey in his postgame radio appearance. “It’s taking us too long to get going on offense right now. Defensively, we have guys who are where they are supposed to be and playing with lots of effort.”

Brookhaven High finishes up the non-region portion of its schedule with a trip to play at 7A Northwest Rankin (2-2). McComb (1-2) will be back on the road next week playing at South Pike (4-0).