Top ranked Simpson overpowers Brookhaven

By Brett Rutland

Going in to Brookhaven Academy’s second round playoff game against Simpson Academy, Cougars head coach Tripp McCarty just wanted the Cougars to play well. Some things however just aren’t meant to be.
Simpson topped Brookhaven 44-19 in Mendenhall Friday night to improve to 12-0 on the season and defeated Brookhaven for the second time this season. Brookhaven ends its season with a 10-3 record. Simpson advances to meet Trinity Episcopal for the AA South State Championship game Friday night.
“Simpson really forced the issue on us tonight.” said McCarty. “Their defense really gave us trouble trying to move the football and we never could get our ground game going.”
“I’m extremely proud of our players and what they’ve accomplished.” added McCarty. “They over-achieved all season and had a great year. This group of seniors will really be missed. They’re a special group.”
Simpson boasts the leading rusher in all of AA football in senior Cade Eiland, and the back showed it in the game. Eiland rushed for 175 yards on 20 carries with three touchdowns, all in the first half, to lead Simpson as the Cougars from Mendenhall jumped on Brookhaven early. Simpson looked as though it would blow the game open early as the hosts raced to a 27-0 lead before Brookhaven finally reached pay dirt with just one second remaining in the first half. Gage Posey’s one yard run cut the Simpson lead to 27-6 at the half. Posey was able to connect with Seth Rushing from 19 yards out at the 7:24 mark of the fourth quarter, and senior Jacob Philipp added a 7 yard run with 1:19 left to register the final points of the season for Brookhaven.
Simpson used a brutal rushing attack to torch the Brookhaven defense for 387 yards on the ground. It was by no means the best performance of the season for Brookhaven, something the Cougars hoped to avoid against top ranked Simpson.
Penalties also played a big part in the game for both teams as there were 24 penalties for 207 yards.
Brookhaven’s seniors end their career with an impressive 37-5 record. During that stretch, those players collected three district championships and a state title ring.
Gage Posey led the Brookhaven offense, completing 17 of his 31 pass attempts for 206 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted once. Posey also added one touchdown rushing.

On defense, Bailey Hodge and Bubba Keene led the Brookhaven defense with 17 tackles a piece. Colby Culbertson and Hunter Franklin each added 11 stops.
For the season, Posey completed 129 of his 242 pass attempts for 2,012 yards and 24 touchdowns. He was intercepted 11 times. Landon Nettles led the Brookhaven ground game this season, picking up 1,126 yards on 187 carries with 12 touchdowns. Bubba Keene totaled 1,853 all purpose yards with 16 touchdowns, as well as adding 112 tackles on defense.
Bailey Hodge was the leading tackler, totaling 190 stops for the Cougars. Eli Gatlin followed with 118 tackles and Jacob Philipp registered 117 stops for the season.