Parklane escapes Brookhaven
Submitted to Southern Sports & Travel
Somewhat banged up with injuries, the
Brookhaven Academy Cougars took their show on the road for the third time in
four weeks traveling due south on Interstate 55 to face off with the Parklane
Pioneers in McComb. Coach Tripp McCarty
said prior to the game, “Parklane is a solid ball club. We will have to be on our game for four
quarters and if we do that, it’ll be a good one to watch.” As predicted, both teams gutted it out for
four solid quarters with Parklane outlasting Brookhaven 20 - 14 in a nail biter. With junior tailback Landon Nettles and
senior linebacker Taylor Rutland both sidelined recovering from nagging injuries
sustained in last week’s game at Simpson Academy, senior quarterback Gage Posey
knew the lion’s share of the Brookhaven Academy offense would rest with him and
his receiving corps.
Wanting to strike first, BA won the coin toss
and took the ball to start the game. A
29 yard kickoff return by Matthew Evans put the Cougars in great position
early. On their first offensive play
Posey hit wide-out Seth Rushing on a quick slant for six yards but a hard hit
by a trio of Parklane defenders popped the ball out which the Pioneers quickly
recovered in BA territory. Three plays
later senior Parklane tailback Joseph Clark took the pitch around left end for
25 yards and the first touchdown of the game.
Zack McDaniel added the PAT to give the Pioneers a 7 – 0 lead at the
11:06 mark of the first quarter.
Brookhaven was forced to punt after a quick
three and out on their next possession and turned to their defense to make a
play and not let the game get away early.
Rising to the occasion, The Cougar front line made a jarring hit in the Pioneer
backfield shaking the ball loose and defensive end Garrett Pace recovered the
fumble at the Parklane 22 yard line. The
Cougars quickly drove the ball down to the Parklane 5 yard line where Posey then
hit Evans on a pass play one step deep into the end zone for the
touchdown. Kevin Nettles added the PAT
knotting the game up a 7 - 7 at the 8:55 mark of the first quarter.
Brookhaven’s defense would again stiffen forcing
Parklane to punt back to the Cougars who would take over on offense at their
own 15 yard line with 5:24 remaining in the first quarter. Relying primarily on the pass to offset
Parklane’s talented defensive run stoppers, Posey would march the Cougars down
the field completing passes to four different receivers during the drive. Brookhaven would find themselves with a fourth down
on the Parklane one yard line as time expired in the first quarter. Without hesitation, Coach McCarty called on
his senior signal caller and Posey took it off left tackle for the
touchdown. Nettles added the PAT to give
the Cougars a 14 – 7 lead with 11:58 showing in the second quarter.
Both teams would trade punts and interceptions,
one by Tanner Parvin for Brookhaven and one by Walt Aldridge for Parklane as
the minutes ticked down in the first half.
Parklane would mount a late drive pushing the ball inside the Brookhaven 10 yard line with under a minute to play in the first half. With no timeouts and 2 running plays, the Pioneers were forced to quickly rush their field goal unit onto the field with less than 10 seconds left in the half. Getting the snap off with just :02 showing on the clock, Pioneer holder Zach Stutzman mishandled the exchange and was forced to retreat rolling wide to his right then tossing a floater over the Brookhaven defenders to an open Dan Gill along the back line of the end zone for the first half ending touchdown. McDaniel would add the PAT and the teams would go to their locker rooms tied up at 14.
Parklane would mount a late drive pushing the ball inside the Brookhaven 10 yard line with under a minute to play in the first half. With no timeouts and 2 running plays, the Pioneers were forced to quickly rush their field goal unit onto the field with less than 10 seconds left in the half. Getting the snap off with just :02 showing on the clock, Pioneer holder Zach Stutzman mishandled the exchange and was forced to retreat rolling wide to his right then tossing a floater over the Brookhaven defenders to an open Dan Gill along the back line of the end zone for the first half ending touchdown. McDaniel would add the PAT and the teams would go to their locker rooms tied up at 14.
The Cougars would force a Parklane punt on
their first possession of the second half and would take over at their own 44
yard line 4 minutes into the third quarter.
Brookhaven would strike quick with Posey hitting Seth Rushing on a 23
yard pass play for a first down at the Pioneer 22 yard line. Unable to convert a subsequent third down
play, the Cougars were forced to attempt a 31 yard field goal that sailed
inches outside the left upright with 6:20 left to play in the third.
Parklane would take over from that point and
push into Cougar territory but see their drive stall out at the Brookhaven 11
yard line. Coach Mike Powell would call
on his junior placekicker Zack McDaniel who split the uprights with a 28 yard
field goal to give the Pioneers a 17 -14 lead with 2:45 left to play in the
third quarter.
With the Cougars on the move, Stutzman
stepped in front of a Posey pass and returned the pick for an apparent 63 yard touchdown;
however, a block in the back penalty negated the touchdown but gave Parklane
the ball at the Cougar 41 yard line. The
Pioneers were able to advance deep into
Cougar territory but again the Brookhaven defense would hold and Parklane would
settle for McDaniel 20 yard field goal and a 20 -14 lead with 9:45 to play in
the game.
Teams would trade possessions and Brookhaven would get the ball back on their own 26 yard line with 5:14 to play. Posey would engineer a drive with a 17 yard pass to Ross Foreman to convert a third down play and then a 18 yard pass to Evans on a third and 22 to set up a crucial fourth down and four yards to go at the Parklane 24 yard line with 2:58 seconds left in the contest. The Cougars would use their final timeout to talk things over and set up their next play. Posey would take the shotgun snap and roll quickly to his left and throw a bullet that bounced off the shoulder pad of his would-be receiver and fall to the turf in the west end zone. A collective sigh of relief could be heard on the Pioneer sideline amidst shouts of celebration. Parklane was then able to convert a third down and short after taking over on downs and run out the clock for the 20 – 14 victory.
Sweat soaked and drained but still optimistic, Brookhaven Head Coach Tripp McCarty said, “I am proud of the way we came out and played tonight.” We were forced to change our approach up a bit due to some injuries and also due to how well we knew Parklane played the run, and our guys gave us a shot to win it at the end.” McCarty continued, “Sure we would like to be 4 and 0, and with a play here and a play there that’s where we would be. But our guys understand and recognize where we are and where we want to be in late October going into November. They know and believe playing these tough opponents like Parklane early in the season is going to make us a better football team down the road.”
Like the game itself, the final statistics were neck and neck. Brookhaven Academy had 253 total yards of offense and Parklane ended the game with 241 total yards. Brady Lea led the Pioneers with 127 yards passing and 88 yards on the ground. The Cougars were led by Gage Posey who had 196 yards through the air and a touchdown. Posey also had one rushing touchdown to his credit. Leading receivers for the Cougars were Ross Foreman with six catches for 72 yards, Matthew Evans had five catches for 40 yards and a touchdown and Seth Rushing also had 5 catches totaling 48 yards for the Cougars.
Colby Culbertson led the defense effort for BA with 12 tackles, Garrett Pace added 7 tackles and a fumble recovery, Preston Rawls had 6 ½ tackles and defensive lineman Tramel Shed chipped in five stops for the Cougars.
The Cougars are back at home next week to face the Wayne Academy Jaguars in a 7 pm start on the campus of Brookhaven Academy and R. M. “Red” Stuard Field.
Teams would trade possessions and Brookhaven would get the ball back on their own 26 yard line with 5:14 to play. Posey would engineer a drive with a 17 yard pass to Ross Foreman to convert a third down play and then a 18 yard pass to Evans on a third and 22 to set up a crucial fourth down and four yards to go at the Parklane 24 yard line with 2:58 seconds left in the contest. The Cougars would use their final timeout to talk things over and set up their next play. Posey would take the shotgun snap and roll quickly to his left and throw a bullet that bounced off the shoulder pad of his would-be receiver and fall to the turf in the west end zone. A collective sigh of relief could be heard on the Pioneer sideline amidst shouts of celebration. Parklane was then able to convert a third down and short after taking over on downs and run out the clock for the 20 – 14 victory.
Sweat soaked and drained but still optimistic, Brookhaven Head Coach Tripp McCarty said, “I am proud of the way we came out and played tonight.” We were forced to change our approach up a bit due to some injuries and also due to how well we knew Parklane played the run, and our guys gave us a shot to win it at the end.” McCarty continued, “Sure we would like to be 4 and 0, and with a play here and a play there that’s where we would be. But our guys understand and recognize where we are and where we want to be in late October going into November. They know and believe playing these tough opponents like Parklane early in the season is going to make us a better football team down the road.”
Like the game itself, the final statistics were neck and neck. Brookhaven Academy had 253 total yards of offense and Parklane ended the game with 241 total yards. Brady Lea led the Pioneers with 127 yards passing and 88 yards on the ground. The Cougars were led by Gage Posey who had 196 yards through the air and a touchdown. Posey also had one rushing touchdown to his credit. Leading receivers for the Cougars were Ross Foreman with six catches for 72 yards, Matthew Evans had five catches for 40 yards and a touchdown and Seth Rushing also had 5 catches totaling 48 yards for the Cougars.
Colby Culbertson led the defense effort for BA with 12 tackles, Garrett Pace added 7 tackles and a fumble recovery, Preston Rawls had 6 ½ tackles and defensive lineman Tramel Shed chipped in five stops for the Cougars.
The Cougars are back at home next week to face the Wayne Academy Jaguars in a 7 pm start on the campus of Brookhaven Academy and R. M. “Red” Stuard Field.
