Brookhaven and Vicksburg, two teams in search of a passingattack, collide Friday night in Vicksburg. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.

“We have worked on everything this week,” said Brookhaven headcoach Tucker Peavey. “We realized we have to do a better job ofcatching and throwing the football. And we have to do a better jobblocking.”

Peavey watched his Panthers post a 22-6 season-opening victoryover the Hazlehurst Indians last Friday night as a King Field crowdestimated at 3,900 watched the contest. What the crowd didn’t seewas an expected high-powered passing attack. Senior quarterbackJimmy Johns was 1-of-12 passing for 16 yards.

By comparison, Vicksburg struggled offensively against Gulfportin the Red Carpet Bowl Classic, losing 20-8. Gator quarterbackEugene Morgan completed just 4 of 14 passes for 29 yards and wasintercepted twice. Gulfport’s blitzing defense gave Morgan fits andone pass theft was returned for a touchdown.

“You can’t play a good team and have those kinds of turnovers,”said Vicksburg coach Alonzo Stevens after the game. “We lost ourconcentration. We’ve just got to go back to the drawing board.”

Brookhaven, ranked No. 4 in The Associated Press Prep Poll, wasled by senior tailback Ronny McNulty who provided the winning sparkagainst Hazlehurst. He rushed for 214 yards and 2 touchdowns. Healso caught a 16-yard screen pass, Brookhaven’s onlycompletion.

Peavey and his staff have studied the Vicksburg-Gulfport gamefilm in depth. Peavey said, “Vicksburg looks like the typicalVicksburg team. They have big linemen and fast receivers. They havean athletic quarterback and some good running backs.”

As usual, the Gators don’t lack for college prospects. Peaveysaid, “Their tight end on offense is a good player. They have a260-pound middle linebacker.”

Vicksburg has a variety of offensive weapons. Running backCordarryl Gleese rushed for 97 yards on 12 carries againstVicksburg. He scored the Gators’ only touchdown on a 25-yardrun.

“They (Gators) have a pretty good mix on offense,” said Peavey.”They use a lot of formations and some misdirection plays.”

Brookhaven got a 4-yard touchdown run from Johns as the Panthersbuilt a 19-0 halftime lead over Hazlehurst. The Panthers got a29-yard field goal from Will Thibodeaux in the third quarter.

On defense, senior linebacker Darius Perkins led the Pantherswith 6 solo tackles, and a fumble recovery. Lineman Jessie Bowmanhad 4 solo tackles and a quarterback sack.

Peavey said senior offensive lineman Tyler Gatlin would miss asecond straight game due to a sprained right ankle.

Panther Paws: Last year Vicksburg won atriple-overtime thriller on King Field, escaping with a 55-47victory. The Gators had 418 yards passing from quarterback JamesJackson. Perkins led Brookhaven with 95 rushing yards. Johns passedfor 31 yards and 3 touchdowns.