Brookhaven slips past improving Centreville squadFor Southern Sports & Travel, By Brett Rutland
The last time Brookhaven Academy met Centreville Academy was the second round of the MAIS AA playoffs last November. Anyone who was in attendance that night is unlikely to forget the 57-56 shoot-out that Brookhaven won en route to the AA State Championship. The two teams met again Friday night as Brookhaven celebrated homecoming at R.M. “Red” Stuard Field, and while this match up lacked the offensive firepower from last season, the two defenses made sure fans had plenty of excitement. Brookhaven squeaked by Centreville 14-13 in a non-district matchup to improve to 7-0 on the season and keep the state’s longest winning streak alive at 22 games. Centreville, which began their season with three tough losses, broke a three game win streak and fell to 3-4.
Early on, it appeared that it would be a typical night for Brookhaven’s offense. After their defense forced a Centreville punt, Chandler Rogers and company put together an 8 play, 77 yard drive that was culminated with a 3 yard pass from Rogers to Bubba Keene. Tyler Trout added the extra point for a 7-0 Brookhaven lead with 5:51 remaining in the first quarter.
(Above) Brookhaven junior wide-out Bubba Keene
From that point on, it was a defensive struggle for both teams. Centreville managed its only touchdown of the night at the 7:31 mark of the first half that capped a 16 play, 72 yard drive with Randy Bell scoring on a one yard run. Cliff Hurst added the extra point, knotting things up at 7 at half time.
The defensive struggle continued throughout the second half as both teams fought mental mistakes, penalties and turnovers. Centreville was able to add a 30 yard field goal from Hurst as time expired in the third quarter to take a 10-7 lead. Hurst added 37 yard field goal with 4:40 remaining in the game to increase the Tiger lead to 13-7 and put tons of pressure on the Brookhaven offense.
Brookhaven took over at their own twenty yard line and actually reached midfield in two plays, but three personal foul calls pushed Brookhaven back inside their own 20 with three minutes to go and the Cougars facing a first down and 45. The Cougars were able to respond, gaining the lost yardage back and being faced with a fourth and 11 at their own 48 yard line. Rogers connected with Keene for 12 yards and a first down to keep the Cougars hopes alive. Two plays later, Rogers connected with Keene on a 44 screen pass that saw Keene outrace defenders down the sideline and send the large Brookhaven crowd into a frenzy. Trout added the extra point for the 14-13 Brookhaven lead with 2:45 remaining.
Centreville’s attempt for late game heroics ended as Hurst’s pass fell to the turf on fourth down as time expired. “We came out flat tonight.” said Brookhaven head coach Herbert Davis. “We made a lot of mistakes and had a ton of penalties. They’re a good team, regardless of what their record says. We knew coming in they would bring their best game against us and that’s what we got.”
“I hope this game really serves as a wake-up call.” added Davis. “We’ve been used to going in to games and scoring 40 and 50 points and just blowing people out, but we’ve got to understand that isn’t going to happen every week. Teams are going to bring their A game against us and the teams are only going to get tougher as we go along. We’ve got to come out focused and ready to play every week from now on or we’ll be in trouble in some games.”
Chandler Rogers led the Brookhaven offense, completing 14 of his 27 pass attempts for 251 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted three times. On the ground, he picked up 36 yards on 12 carries. Jennings Mills was the leading receiver with 6 catches for 106 yards. Keene had 6 receptions for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Colton Terrell led Centreville with 7 carries for 71 yards. Cliff Hurst picked up 54 yards on 13 attempts. Randy Bell added 42 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown.
On defense, Jeff Rushing led the Brookhaven defense with 18 tackles. Bailey Hodge followed with 14 stops. Gage Posey added 13 tackles, Alan Michael Allred chipped in 12 stops and Hunter Franklin and C.J. Duckworth each had 10 tackles.
Brookhaven hosts Trinity Episcopal of Natchez Friday night in a non-district showdown of top-ranked, undefeated teams. Kick off at R.M. “Red” Stuard Field is set for 7 p.m.
Early on, it appeared that it would be a typical night for Brookhaven’s offense. After their defense forced a Centreville punt, Chandler Rogers and company put together an 8 play, 77 yard drive that was culminated with a 3 yard pass from Rogers to Bubba Keene. Tyler Trout added the extra point for a 7-0 Brookhaven lead with 5:51 remaining in the first quarter.
(Above) Brookhaven junior wide-out Bubba KeeneFrom that point on, it was a defensive struggle for both teams. Centreville managed its only touchdown of the night at the 7:31 mark of the first half that capped a 16 play, 72 yard drive with Randy Bell scoring on a one yard run. Cliff Hurst added the extra point, knotting things up at 7 at half time.
The defensive struggle continued throughout the second half as both teams fought mental mistakes, penalties and turnovers. Centreville was able to add a 30 yard field goal from Hurst as time expired in the third quarter to take a 10-7 lead. Hurst added 37 yard field goal with 4:40 remaining in the game to increase the Tiger lead to 13-7 and put tons of pressure on the Brookhaven offense.
Brookhaven took over at their own twenty yard line and actually reached midfield in two plays, but three personal foul calls pushed Brookhaven back inside their own 20 with three minutes to go and the Cougars facing a first down and 45. The Cougars were able to respond, gaining the lost yardage back and being faced with a fourth and 11 at their own 48 yard line. Rogers connected with Keene for 12 yards and a first down to keep the Cougars hopes alive. Two plays later, Rogers connected with Keene on a 44 screen pass that saw Keene outrace defenders down the sideline and send the large Brookhaven crowd into a frenzy. Trout added the extra point for the 14-13 Brookhaven lead with 2:45 remaining.
Centreville’s attempt for late game heroics ended as Hurst’s pass fell to the turf on fourth down as time expired. “We came out flat tonight.” said Brookhaven head coach Herbert Davis. “We made a lot of mistakes and had a ton of penalties. They’re a good team, regardless of what their record says. We knew coming in they would bring their best game against us and that’s what we got.”
“I hope this game really serves as a wake-up call.” added Davis. “We’ve been used to going in to games and scoring 40 and 50 points and just blowing people out, but we’ve got to understand that isn’t going to happen every week. Teams are going to bring their A game against us and the teams are only going to get tougher as we go along. We’ve got to come out focused and ready to play every week from now on or we’ll be in trouble in some games.”Chandler Rogers led the Brookhaven offense, completing 14 of his 27 pass attempts for 251 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted three times. On the ground, he picked up 36 yards on 12 carries. Jennings Mills was the leading receiver with 6 catches for 106 yards. Keene had 6 receptions for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Colton Terrell led Centreville with 7 carries for 71 yards. Cliff Hurst picked up 54 yards on 13 attempts. Randy Bell added 42 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown.
On defense, Jeff Rushing led the Brookhaven defense with 18 tackles. Bailey Hodge followed with 14 stops. Gage Posey added 13 tackles, Alan Michael Allred chipped in 12 stops and Hunter Franklin and C.J. Duckworth each had 10 tackles.
Brookhaven hosts Trinity Episcopal of Natchez Friday night in a non-district showdown of top-ranked, undefeated teams. Kick off at R.M. “Red” Stuard Field is set for 7 p.m.
**Photos courtesy of Sherylyn Evans
