Simpson gets a crack at top ranked Brookhaven
Southern Sports & Travel, By Darron Thomas
Midway through the 2010 MAIS football season the Brookhaven Cougars are right where they expected to be. The defending AA state champions have reeled off twenty straight wins dating back to last season and easily handled what most thought would be their stiffest test in a 42-13 thumping of 5th ranked Central Hinds last week. But now as the Cougars have entered their strongest stretch of the 2010 schedule comes along another challenge, 3rd ranked Simpson.
On the surface this week’s matchup with Brookhaven is just another game for the Simpson Cougars. After all, it’s a non district game that has no effect on Simpson’s battle with District 3AA opponents. But if you scratch around that surface just a bit you know you’ll find a football team with something to prove. Last season Simpson and Brookhaven met at Brookhaven in week six, both at 5-0 and highly ranked. After battling to a 14-14 halftime score Brookhaven came out and shut Simpson down in the second half and earned a decisive 37-14 win. Brookhaven’s defense limited the Simpson rushing attack to 112 yards on the night. That fact alone doesn’t sit well with a traditional power such as Simpson that prides itself in being dominant on the ground.
Besides the obvious similarity between the two schools in that they have both established themselves as premier AA football programs another interesting tidbit is that both head coaches have now led their Alma Mater to state championships. Simpson head coach Billy Wayne Hankins guided the Cougars to three straight AA titles in 2003, 04 & 05 while Herbert Davis accomplished t
he feat for Brookhaven last season.
The similarities end there. Brookhaven has the premier player in the MAIS in quarterback Chandler Rogers. The senior has a 28-4 record as the starting signal caller for the Cougars and is on track to be one of the most prolific players in Mississippi High School football history this season and after five weeks of play Rogers has racked up 18 touchdowns. Rogers earned the Southern Sports & Travel Player of the Year last season but was inexplicably left off the Clarion Ledger Dandy Dozen list this season.
While Simpson may not have a prolific signal caller they do possess one of the better tailbacks in the MAIS in junior Cade
Eiland. Eiland rushed for 1,424 yards as a sophomore and is averaging 145 yards a game this season. His speed allows him to reach the corners quickly and with the addition of 20 lbs in the off season Eiland can absorb and inflict damage between the tackles.
The atmosphere Friday night in Mendenhall will be electric. Playing at Simpson has always been one of the toughest venues for opposing teams but Simpson’s visitors on Friday night will pose the toughest challenge for a defense that is allowing an MAIS best 4.4 points a game.
Below are audio interviews with both head coaches.
Southern Sports & Travel, By Darron Thomas
Midway through the 2010 MAIS football season the Brookhaven Cougars are right where they expected to be. The defending AA state champions have reeled off twenty straight wins dating back to last season and easily handled what most thought would be their stiffest test in a 42-13 thumping of 5th ranked Central Hinds last week. But now as the Cougars have entered their strongest stretch of the 2010 schedule comes along another challenge, 3rd ranked Simpson.
On the surface this week’s matchup with Brookhaven is just another game for the Simpson Cougars. After all, it’s a non district game that has no effect on Simpson’s battle with District 3AA opponents. But if you scratch around that surface just a bit you know you’ll find a football team with something to prove. Last season Simpson and Brookhaven met at Brookhaven in week six, both at 5-0 and highly ranked. After battling to a 14-14 halftime score Brookhaven came out and shut Simpson down in the second half and earned a decisive 37-14 win. Brookhaven’s defense limited the Simpson rushing attack to 112 yards on the night. That fact alone doesn’t sit well with a traditional power such as Simpson that prides itself in being dominant on the ground.
Besides the obvious similarity between the two schools in that they have both established themselves as premier AA football programs another interesting tidbit is that both head coaches have now led their Alma Mater to state championships. Simpson head coach Billy Wayne Hankins guided the Cougars to three straight AA titles in 2003, 04 & 05 while Herbert Davis accomplished t
he feat for Brookhaven last season. The similarities end there. Brookhaven has the premier player in the MAIS in quarterback Chandler Rogers. The senior has a 28-4 record as the starting signal caller for the Cougars and is on track to be one of the most prolific players in Mississippi High School football history this season and after five weeks of play Rogers has racked up 18 touchdowns. Rogers earned the Southern Sports & Travel Player of the Year last season but was inexplicably left off the Clarion Ledger Dandy Dozen list this season.
While Simpson may not have a prolific signal caller they do possess one of the better tailbacks in the MAIS in junior Cade
Eiland. Eiland rushed for 1,424 yards as a sophomore and is averaging 145 yards a game this season. His speed allows him to reach the corners quickly and with the addition of 20 lbs in the off season Eiland can absorb and inflict damage between the tackles.The atmosphere Friday night in Mendenhall will be electric. Playing at Simpson has always been one of the toughest venues for opposing teams but Simpson’s visitors on Friday night will pose the toughest challenge for a defense that is allowing an MAIS best 4.4 points a game.
Below are audio interviews with both head coaches.
