Don’t look at the final score of Brookhaven High 42, Vancleave High 21 and think that the homestanding Panthers (10-1) had an easy win Friday on King Field to open the MHSAA 5A playoffs.

The Bulldogs (5-6) from Jackson County also visited BHS to start the postseason last year, a 55-7 win for the Panthers.

In this 2024 rematch, Brookhaven High clung to a 28-21 lead to start the final quarter of football and it felt like all the momentum was held by the visitors in blue and white.

Needing to play better in order to put the fourth seeded Bulldogs away, that’s exactly what Brookhaven High did with two scores in quick succession, one by the offense and one by the defense, with the fourth quarter halfway finished.

Before we get to that, praise needs to be given to a gritty group of Vancleave Bulldogs who are led by former Mississippi State quarterback Kevin Fant.

“If the Good Lord had come down during warmups and told me we’d been down a score to start the fourth quarter, I’d have said, ‘I’ll take that Lord,’” said Fant. “Brookhaven is a good team and there is a reason they have only lost one game this season. Very proud of the way my guys battled all night, especially with some of them banged at the end of a long year.”

Vancleave had size up front, led by 6-foot-5 junior offensive tackle Dalton Toothman. The 270-pound Toothman holds offers from Southern Miss, Tulane and Baylor.

The Bulldogs operated mostly out of an I-formation and they had a variety of players that touched the ball offensively.

Brookhaven High started out in a 5-man front, which is a change for them. They kept their outside linebackers on the ends of the line and had 11 men in the box early.

Once Vancleave found success passing, the Panthers were forced to adjust.

Twice in the first half, BHS also avoided near disaster on special teams when junior punter Crews Stewart was able to chase down errant snaps and get off punts while being chased by a pack of Bulldogs.

Sophomore quarterback Jaden Allen got BHS on the board midway through the first quarter with an 18-yard touchdown run. It was the third straight carry of the drive for the speedy Allen. The PAT kick was unsuccessful though and BHS led 6-0.

Vancleave punched right back, as their junior running back Kyle Capers burst through the line for a long gain that ended inside the BHS redzone.

The Panthers bowed up though, and on third and goal, the defense forced a fumble that was recovered in the endzone by sophomore defensive back Cortavian Dixon for a BHS touchback.

Dixon got his most extended action of the season on Friday as senior defensive back Rameriaze Edwards is recovering from an injury suffered in the regular season finale against Natchez.

Junior running back Caiden Quales ripped off a 78-yard touchdown run right after that VHS turnover and with 1:24 left in the first quarter, it looked like the Panthers were ready to roll with a 13-0 lead.

Driving on its next possession, BHS turned the ball over via an athletic interception by Cameron Sherrod of Vancleave. The first offensive play for the Bulldogs after that went for an 85-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Wyatt Adams to senior receiver Daylan Moore.

Vancleave kicker Jordyn Raynor saw her PAT kick sail through the uprights and VHS had cut the lead to 13-7 in the second quarter.

Vancleave could have gone into halftime with it a one score game, but the Bulldogs stayed aggressive in their play calling late in the second quarter, which led to BHS defensive back EJ Ratliff picking off a pass and returning it to midfield with 1:12 left in the second quarter.

On first down, Allen tossed a quick pass to Quarles in the flats. Quarles flew through a couple arm tackles and down the sideline for the 50-yard touchdown catch that made it a two-score game with 60 seconds left until half.

BHS went with the heavy package to get the 2-point conversion and junior offensive lineman Zac Richardson got the handoff and scored. BHS head coach Tucker Peavey has been rewarding his offensive lineman that graded out the highest from the previous week with a carry in the last few games, and it was Richardson’s turn to shine on Friday.

On the opening Vancleave possession of the third quarter, sophomore defensive end Derwin Fields launched into the quarterback Adams like a heat seeking missile. The ball popped free on the sack and junior linebacker DJ Washington got the scoop and score, his second touchdown in the last three weeks.

That was about it for BHS highlights in the third quarter though, as Vancleave put together a couple real meat grinder type drives. One was finished by a short run from Adams and the other ended with Capers scoring to make things 28-21 with 30 seconds left in the third quarter.

“Ultimately, when we needed to make plays at the end, we did,” said Peavey in the postgame.

Facing 4th-and-long just on the BHS side of midfield, the Panther defense got a stop when Adams tried to throw against the sophomore defensive back Dixon on back-to-back plays.

Quarles, who topped the 1,000 yard mark for the season during the game, ripped off a 50-yard touchdown run on first down that allowed everyone cheering for Ole Brook a chance to exhale with the lead now 35-21.

The vibes were further lifted on the next VHS possession when Ratliff nabbed the second of his three interceptions in the game. He weaved and sprinted through the would-be tacklers to score on the 64-yard return, putting BHS up 42-21 with 4:26 remaining in the game.

Up next for BHS will be a home game next week against Stone County. The Tomcats from Wiggins won at home 17-7 on Friday against Florence High.

Gautier, the winner of Region 4-5A, held off Natchez High by a 36-30 final score on Friday. The Gators from Gautier will play the Wayne County War Eagles next week in the quarterfinals. WC beat South Jones, which finished second in Region 3-5A behind BHS, 42-14 in Ellisville on Friday.

Brookhaven High is the only team from its region to advance out of the first round. In the North half of the 5A bracket, West Point beat Yazoo City 41-0, Canton beat New Hope 50-41, Cleveland Central stayed unbeaten with a 31-13 win over Pontotoc, and Holmes County Central beat Corinth 20-7.