Simpson
storms back to take district title
Southern
Sports & Travel
For
nearly three full quarters of play the second ranked Lamar Raiders looked to be
on their way to claiming a district championship and hosting a first round
playoff game after keeping the defending Class AA champion Simpson Cougars in
check but as most champions do a response was in order. Simpson, trailing 15-12
with just over one minute remaining in the third quarter, answered with three
scores and in doing so claimed their fourth consecutive district title with a
28-15 win on a cool, blustery night in Mendenhall.
Simpson
dialed up 335 yards rushing and had two pivotal long gains through the air in
securing a first round home game against the Oak Forest Yellow Jackets next
Friday night. Tailbacks Daniel Taylor and Chris Sullivan combined for 250 yards
rushing and the Cougar defense held Lamar tailback Corey Skinner to 45 yards as
Simpson beat Lamar for the fifth time in the past six meetings.
(Above) Simpson tailback Andrew Berry (#5) hits the opening for positive yardage
Lamar
dodged a huge bullet early as the game opening kickoff was fumbled and gave
Simpson the football at the Raider 27 yard line just 5 seconds into the contest
but Lamar’s defense thwarted the Cougar threat when linebacker Dalton McHenry
intercepted a Josh Hankins pass at the Raider 18 yard line.
Lamar’s
offense would start clicking on the Raider’s third possession of the night as
the Raiders moved 44 yards in 6 plays to the Simpson 8 yard line to close out a
scoreless opening quarter.
Lamar
tailback Lee Martin raced around the left side 8 yards on the first play of the
second quarter for the first score of the night.
Danny
Weisner’s PAT gave Lamar a 7-0 lead with 11:54 left in the half.
Simpson
responded on the ensuing possession as the Cougars produced a 5 play, 65 yard
scoring drive that was capped on a Chris Sullivan 8 yard jaunt at the 10:28
mark of the quarter.
Andrew
Berry’s PAT attempt was blocked by Lamar’s Richard Covington to preserve the
Raider lead at 7-6.
Lamar’s
offense looked to have the Simpson defense on their heels once again as the
Raiders moved from their own 20 yard line to the Cougar 29 in six plays but the
drive died when junior linebacker Daniel Taylor picked off a Barrett Dudley pass
at the 24 yard line with 8:04 remaining until the half.
Lamar
would enter intermission holding on to the 7-6 lead.
The
tide of the game took just 51 seconds to change to open the second half. After
tailback Andrew Berry picked up a modest 2 yard gain on first down fellow
tailback Chris Sullivan erupted off the right side and outraced the Lamar
defense for a 78 yard touchdown.
Simpson’s
2-point conversion attempt failed but the Cougars had taken their first lead of
the night at 12-7 with 11:09 left in the third quarter.
The Simpson ground game rushed for 335 yards on the night
Simpson
was only allowed to enjoy their first lead of the night for less than three
minutes as Lamar answered with a 6 play drive that consumed 58 yards and was
finished off on a Barrett Dudley 31 yard quarterback keeper at the 8:54 mark.
Lamar
then successfully converted on a 2-point conversion as Dudley connected with
tailback Corey Skinner in the endzone to give the Raiders a 15-12 advantage.
Lamar
looked to have all the momentum as the Raider defense forced a Simpson punt and
gave the Raiders prime field position at their own 40 yard line but a critical
game changing mistake would change the whole complexion of the game. Lamar
quarterback Barrett Dudley connected with tailback Lee Martin who rumbled his
way to the Simpson 1 yard line before being taken down but a block in the back
infraction wiped out the 46 yard gain and ultimately resulted in the Simpson defense
stopping Lamar on a 4th and 2 run that came up a foot shy of a first down at
the Cougar 38 yard line with 2:17 remaining in the third quarter.
The
defending state champions then used a play they had worked on in preparation
for Lamar to retake the lead. Following a Christopher Sullivan 3 yard pick up
to the 41 yard line quarterback Josh Hankins found a wide open Hayden Benton
who had gotten behind the Lamar defenders in the middle of the field as the
junior fullback capped the 62 yard completion to put Simpson on top for good at
19-15 with 1:29 left in the quarter.
(Above) Lamar quarterback Barrett Dudley (#10) rounds the edge for yardage
Simpson
would increase their lead to 22-15 on an Andrew Berry 27 yard field goal at the
8:31 mark of the fourth quarter with a time consuming effort that burned five
minutes off the game clock.
Following
a Lamar punt Simpson took control with 5:30 left in the contest and moved from
their own 40 yard line to the Raider 30 where they faced a fourth and 4
and less than two minutes remaining in regulation.
Simpson
effectively closed the door on the next play as tailback Chris Sullivan connected
with wide-out Peyton Sullivan with a perfectly executed 30 yard halfback pass
play for a touchdown that caught the Raider defense off guard.
Andrew
Berry’s PAT was blocked but the Cougars had secured a 28-15 win and a home
playoff date with Oak Forest.
“This
was the biggest game and win of the season for us,” said senior Chris Sullivan.
“We were down at halftime but we were confident we would turn things around in
the second half and we did. We made big plays when we had to and it’s going to
be exciting playing at home next week in the playoffs.”
With
the win Simpson improved to 8-2 and 3-0 in District 4-AA and in clinching their
fourth straight district title the Cougars have won 16 consecutive
district games and 20 straight wins over Class AA opponents.
Lamar
falls to 8-3 and 2-1 and will travel to top ranked Centreville in the opening
round of the playoffs next Friday night.
Simpson
was led by junior tailback Daniel Taylor who rushed for 126 yards on 19 carries.
Senior tailback Chris Sullivan picked up 124 yards on 14 carries and had two
touchdowns rushing and one passing and junior tailback Andrew Berry rushed for
81 yards on 15 carries.
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Post Game with Simpson Head Coach Billy Wayne Hankins
