Brookhaven captures south AA title
Southern Sports & Travel, By Brett Rutland
Brookhaven Academy head coach Herbert Davis was not sure of what to expect Friday night as his Cougars prepared to battle the River Oaks Mustangs in the MAIS AA South State Championship game. One concern was that the Cougars would be emotionally drained following a thrilling 57-56 win over Centreville Academy on Nov. 13th.
Brookhaven overcame a penalty-filled performance and two crucial injuries, topping the Mustangs 17-7, to claim the AA South State Championship. Brookhaven improved to 14-0 on the season and advances to meet Lamar School of Meridian Friday afternoon for the MAIS AA State Championship game. River Oaks, the district 6-AA champion, ends its season at 11-2.
“It was a sloppy, ugly win.” said Davis. “We had way too many penalties and a couple of turnovers. We don’t be able to play like that next week and expect to win.”
Brookhaven wasted little time in getting things going. After the Cougar defense held River Oaks to a three and out on the opening drive of the game, Brookhaven sophomore wide receiver Bubba Keene took the handoff from quarterback Chandler Rogers on a sweep and out ran defenders for an 80 yard score. Tyler Trout added the extra point, giving Brookhaven a 7-0 lead with 9:42 left in the opening quarter.
Both teams traded possessions through the second quarter, battling penalties and turnovers before Rogers was able to connect with Keene from 18 yards out for the touchdown. Trout kicked the extra point, giving the Cougars a 14-0 lead at the break.
River Oaks got it’s only score of the night with 3:04 left in the third quarter as quarterback Ryan McGregor connected with Vincent Moore on a 34 yard strike. Corey Talley added the extra point, cutting the Brookhaven lead to 14-7.
Brookhaven was forced in to a three and out on the next possession, punting back to the Mustangs and sending an uneasy feeling through the crowd. But the Brookhaven defense stood tall on the ensuing Mustang drive, forcing a turnover on downs with 9:17 left in the game. The Cougar offense responded with an 11 play, 66 yard drive that ended with Trout kicking an 18 yard field goal, giving the hosts a 17-7 lead with 3:04 left to play.
Brookhaven’s defense did the job the rest of the way, forcing another turnover on downs from the Mustangs in the waning minutes to seal the victory.
One concern for the Cougars heading in the title game is the status of its two leading receivers. Senior Tripp Jolly and Keene both left the game with injuries before halftime.
Keene returned to very limited action in the second half, but Jolly was done for the night.
“We aren’t sure about Bubba and Tripp yet for next week.” said Davis. “We’re going to get them checked out and see what the situation is. They’re both big for us offensively, and we’re really going to need them next week.”
Rogers led the Brookhaven offense, completing 11 of his 16 pass attempts for 187 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted once. Jennings Mills had 104 yards rushing on 21 carries. Bubba Keene picked up 78 yards and a touchdown on 3 carries. Donovan Lorraine led Brookhaven with 4 receptions for 79 yards. Keene caught 3 passes for 44 yards and a touchdown.
“Brookhaven is a very fast, well coached team.” said River Oaks coach Robert Hannah. “There were very physical tonight and we weren’t ready for that. Coach Davis had a great game plan and they executed that game plan well.”
We had a pretty good offense coming in to this game.” added Hannah. “But Brookhaven did a good job of eating up a lot of time on their drives and keeping our offense off the field. We never could get in a rhythm. Congrats to coach Davis. He is a class act and they have a great team.”
Ryan McGregor led the Mustangs, completing 7 of his 18 pass attempts for 159 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted once. Vincent Moore led River Oaks with 4 catches for 97 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, Jamison Powell and Alan Michael Allred each had 10 tackles to led Brookhaven. Bailey Hodge followed with 8 stops. Clint Stewart and Jennings Mills each had 7 tackles a piece. Jeff Rushing had an interception and Logan Pace recovered a fumble.
Brookhaven meets Lamar School Friday at 5 p.m. for the AA State Championship game at Millsaps College in Jackson. Lamar won the North AA Championship by defeating Simpson Academy 42-28.
Game Stats
BA RO
First Downs 17 13
Rushes-Yards 39-215 26-68
Passing Yards 187 159
Passing
Comp-Att-Int 11-17-1 7-19-1
Total Yards 402 227
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 1-1
Punts-Avg 2-32 2-33
Penalties-Yards 13-90 3-25
BA 7 7 0 3 17
RO 0 0 7 0 7
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
Brookhaven – Bubba Keene 80 run (Tyler Trout kick) 9:42
Second Quarter
Brookhaven – Keene 18 pass from Chandler Rogers (Trout kick):13
Third Quarter
River Oaks – Vincent Moore 34 pass from Ryan McGregor (Corey Talley kick) 3:04
Fourth Quarter
Brookhaven – Trout 18 FG 3:04
Brookhaven overcame a penalty-filled performance and two crucial injuries, topping the Mustangs 17-7, to claim the AA South State Championship. Brookhaven improved to 14-0 on the season and advances to meet Lamar School of Meridian Friday afternoon for the MAIS AA State Championship game. River Oaks, the district 6-AA champion, ends its season at 11-2.
“It was a sloppy, ugly win.” said Davis. “We had way too many penalties and a couple of turnovers. We don’t be able to play like that next week and expect to win.”
Brookhaven wasted little time in getting things going. After the Cougar defense held River Oaks to a three and out on the opening drive of the game, Brookhaven sophomore wide receiver Bubba Keene took the handoff from quarterback Chandler Rogers on a sweep and out ran defenders for an 80 yard score. Tyler Trout added the extra point, giving Brookhaven a 7-0 lead with 9:42 left in the opening quarter.
Both teams traded possessions through the second quarter, battling penalties and turnovers before Rogers was able to connect with Keene from 18 yards out for the touchdown. Trout kicked the extra point, giving the Cougars a 14-0 lead at the break.
River Oaks got it’s only score of the night with 3:04 left in the third quarter as quarterback Ryan McGregor connected with Vincent Moore on a 34 yard strike. Corey Talley added the extra point, cutting the Brookhaven lead to 14-7.
Brookhaven was forced in to a three and out on the next possession, punting back to the Mustangs and sending an uneasy feeling through the crowd. But the Brookhaven defense stood tall on the ensuing Mustang drive, forcing a turnover on downs with 9:17 left in the game. The Cougar offense responded with an 11 play, 66 yard drive that ended with Trout kicking an 18 yard field goal, giving the hosts a 17-7 lead with 3:04 left to play.
Brookhaven’s defense did the job the rest of the way, forcing another turnover on downs from the Mustangs in the waning minutes to seal the victory.
One concern for the Cougars heading in the title game is the status of its two leading receivers. Senior Tripp Jolly and Keene both left the game with injuries before halftime.
Keene returned to very limited action in the second half, but Jolly was done for the night.
“We aren’t sure about Bubba and Tripp yet for next week.” said Davis. “We’re going to get them checked out and see what the situation is. They’re both big for us offensively, and we’re really going to need them next week.”
Rogers led the Brookhaven offense, completing 11 of his 16 pass attempts for 187 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted once. Jennings Mills had 104 yards rushing on 21 carries. Bubba Keene picked up 78 yards and a touchdown on 3 carries. Donovan Lorraine led Brookhaven with 4 receptions for 79 yards. Keene caught 3 passes for 44 yards and a touchdown.
“Brookhaven is a very fast, well coached team.” said River Oaks coach Robert Hannah. “There were very physical tonight and we weren’t ready for that. Coach Davis had a great game plan and they executed that game plan well.”
We had a pretty good offense coming in to this game.” added Hannah. “But Brookhaven did a good job of eating up a lot of time on their drives and keeping our offense off the field. We never could get in a rhythm. Congrats to coach Davis. He is a class act and they have a great team.”
Ryan McGregor led the Mustangs, completing 7 of his 18 pass attempts for 159 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted once. Vincent Moore led River Oaks with 4 catches for 97 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, Jamison Powell and Alan Michael Allred each had 10 tackles to led Brookhaven. Bailey Hodge followed with 8 stops. Clint Stewart and Jennings Mills each had 7 tackles a piece. Jeff Rushing had an interception and Logan Pace recovered a fumble.
Brookhaven meets Lamar School Friday at 5 p.m. for the AA State Championship game at Millsaps College in Jackson. Lamar won the North AA Championship by defeating Simpson Academy 42-28.
Game Stats
BA RO
First Downs 17 13
Rushes-Yards 39-215 26-68
Passing Yards 187 159
Passing
Comp-Att-Int 11-17-1 7-19-1
Total Yards 402 227
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 1-1
Punts-Avg 2-32 2-33
Penalties-Yards 13-90 3-25
BA 7 7 0 3 17
RO 0 0 7 0 7
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
Brookhaven – Bubba Keene 80 run (Tyler Trout kick) 9:42
Second Quarter
Brookhaven – Keene 18 pass from Chandler Rogers (Trout kick):13
Third Quarter
River Oaks – Vincent Moore 34 pass from Ryan McGregor (Corey Talley kick) 3:04
Fourth Quarter
Brookhaven – Trout 18 FG 3:04
