Brookhaven,
Posey too much for Marshall in title game
Southern
Sports & Travel
On
Friday night at Millsaps College in Jackson a new Class AA State Champion was
crowned but before the championship trophy was presented two teams put on a
performance that will be etched in the memories of those that were there for
many years to come as Brookhaven defeated Marshall 49-40 to claim the school’s
third football state championship.
Also
etched in memories will be the play of Brookhaven quarterback Gage Posey who
put on one of the better performances in MAIS state championship history. Posey
was 24/28 for 365 yards and 6 touchdowns and the senior southpaw rushed for
another score all while playing defense for much of the game.
Seniors
Matthew Evans and Seth Rushing displayed why they are the best receiving duo in
the MAIS as they combined for 17 receptions, 264 yards and 5 touchdowns on the
night.
Brookhaven
moved to the Marshall 43 yard line three plays into the opening possession of
the night and lightning struck as Gage Posey hit Matthew Evans with a 43 yard
touchdown strike just one minute and six seconds into the game. Kevin Nettles
added the PAT and at the 10:54 mark Brookhaven took a 7-0 lead.
After
the Cougar defense forced Marshall into a three and out on their opening
possession Brookhaven got a break when the Patriot punt was shanked and netted
just five yards to the Marshall 35 yard line.
Three
plays later Posey connected with sophomore wide-out Caleb Brown for a 22 yard
touchdown and following Nettles’ PAT the Cougars had taken a 14-0 lead with
7:20 still remaining in the opening quarter.
Marshall
recovered and mounted a drive on their second possession of the night. A Dakota
Dailey 19 yard pass to wide-out Aaron McAlexander resulted in the Patriot's first
score of the night with 1:35 left in the quarter and capped an impressive 10
play, 83 yard drive. Marshall’s 2-point attempt fell short but the Pats had
slowed the Brookhaven momentum.
(Above) Brookhaven qb Gage Posey (#15) releases before linebacker Antonio Love can apply pressure
Marshall
struck again with 1:03 remaining in the first quarter when safety Aaron
McAlexander recovered a Brookhaven fumble at the Cougar 44 yard line and
returned it for a touchdown. The Patriots attempt to tie the game came up short
again but the Cougar advantage had been trimmed to 14-12.
Brookhaven’s
offense seemed undaunted as they marched 68 yards in five plays and expanded
the lead when Gage Posey hooked up with wide-out Seth Rushing for a 30 yard
touchdown strike. Nettles’ PAT extended the lead to 21-12 with 11:43 remaining
in the half.
The
first half scoring would be completed by Marshall. The Patriots produced a 10
play, 62 yard drive that was capped on a Zack Pritchett 4 yard plunge with 6:26
left in the half. Marshall then pulled to within one point at 21-20 after
Dakota Dailey’s successful 2-point conversion run.
The
second ranked Patriots would strike quickly to open the second half and on the
legs of quarterback Dakota Dailey.
The
sophomore scrambled for an 8 yard gain to the Marshall 41 yard line to open the
third quarter and then broke open a 59 yard sprint for a score on the second
play of the half to give Marshall their first lead of the night with less than
one minute gone. Dailey capped the drive with another 2-point conversion run to
give Marshall a 28-21 lead.
Marshall
let a prime opportunity slip from their fingertips on Brookhaven’s ensuing
possession when defensive back Von Watson picked off a Gage Posey pass near the
Cougar 40 yard line but Watson would fumble the football near the Cougar 30
where Brookhaven offensive lineman Drew Philip recovered it.
(Above) Marshall defensive back Von Watson picks off a Gage Posey pass in the 3rd qtr
Marshall
missed out again two plays later when a Posey pass was picked off by safety Dakota
Dailey at the Patriot 45 yard line but a roughing the passer call negated the
turnover.
This
time Brookhaven made the Patriots pay as Gage Posey finished a 70 yard, 5 play
drive with a 3 yard dive up the middle. Kevin Nettles' PAT attempt went wide
left but the Cougars had pulled to within one point at 28-27 with 9:52 left in
the third quarter.
Mistakes would cost Marshall before the quarter ended. Von Watson’s 13 yard
touchdown run with just over five minutes left in the quarter was negated due
to a motion penalty. After quarterback Dakota Dailey was temporarily knocked out
of the game with a knee injury replacement quarterback Zack Pritchett’s pass to
tight-end Matt Rappa was fumbled into the endzone where Brookhaven recovered
and the Cougars took full advantage.
Gage
Posey engineered an 80 yard, 10 play drive that consumed the remainder of the
third quarter and was culminated on the first play of the fourth quarter when
Posey hit Matthew Evans with a 14 yard touchdown pass. The two then hooked up
for a successful 2-point conversion to give Brookhaven a 35-28 edge with 11:55
remaining in regulation.
Marshall
pushed back with a scoring drive of their own. After a fumbled snap set the
Patriots back to their 23 yard line Dakota Dailey hit senior wide-out Aaron
McAlexander for 57 yards to the Brookhaven 20 yard line. One play later
fullback Zack Pritchett bulled his way 20 yards for pay-dirt. Roy Billions’ PAT
attempt went wide left and with 10:41 left Brookhaven clung to a 35-34 lead.
The
Cougars made it three consecutive possessions that resulted in a score when
Posey and Matthew Evans (photo left) connected for the third time of the night, this time
from 35 yards out with 7:13 to play. The score capped a 7 play, 63 yard drive.
Nettles’ PAT extended the Cougar lead to 42-34 and the scent of a Brookhaven
victory was in the air.
That
scent rapidly turned sour as Aaron McAlexander electrified the crowd with a 95
yard kickoff return to pull Marshall back to within two points at 42-40.
Marshall’s 2-point conversion attempt to tie the contest with 6:54 remaining in
regulation failed and the Patriots would get no closer.
Brookhaven
took advantage of a solid kickoff return and Posey nailed wide-out Seth Rushing
with a 53 yard touchdown strike to wrap up a 3 play, 53 yard drive that took
less than one minute. Kevin Nettles added the last point of the night to give
Brookhaven a 49-40 advantage.
Marshall’s
last push was halted when Cougar defensive back Matthew Evans picked off a
Dakota Dailey pass in the endzone with 2:43 remaining in the game.
Brookhaven’s
last four plays were left in the hands of their senior quarterback Gage Posey,
who after taking a knee for the final time in a Brookhaven uniform raised his
hands and acknowledged the students and players who rushed the field to
celebrate a state championship.
Posey
finished his last game for Brookhaven going 24-28 for 365 yards and 6
touchdowns and 48 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Senior
wide-out Seth Rushing (photo right) had 11 receptions for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns while
fellow senior wide-out Matthew Evans had 6 grabs for 108 yards and 3 touchdowns
along with an interception on defense. Caleb Brown had 60 receiving yards on 5
catches and a touchdown and Ross Foreman had 2 receptions for 41 yards.
Senior
linebackers Colby Culbertson and Preston Rawls led the Brookhaven defense with
9 tackles each.
Dakota
Dailey led Marshall (11-3) with 165 yards rushing on 20 carries and a touchdown
and the sophomore went 8/14 for 164 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore
tailback Von Watson led the Patriot ground game with 74 yards on 12 carries.
Marshall
wide-out Aaron McAlexander closed out his career with another exceptional
night. The senior had 5 receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown and had 147
return yards including a 95 yard kickoff return for a score.
Marshall
had 486 yards of total offense while Brookhaven piled up 428 yards.
Brookhaven
finishes the 2012 season at 11-4 but they also close out the season with one of
the more remarkable runs in many years. On September 28 the Cougars dropped a
35-21 home loss to Oak Forest to fall to 3-4 and out of the Southern Sports
& Travel Top Ten Rankings. They followed that loss with eight straight
wins, amongst those were wins over Trinity, Lamar and defending champion
Simpson on the road.
The
33-28 Lamar win came with 33 seconds remaining and signaled that this
Brookhaven squad was destined to win a championship. Lamar was coming off an
upset win over previously undefeated and heavily favored to win it all
Centreville. In the win over Lamar the Cougars mounted a game winning drive
that was capped on a Gage Posey run that demonstrated what champions do. That
touchdown was the signature for a Brookhaven squad that fought for every inch
and reaped the benefits.
This
brings to mind a poignant quote from the Al Pacino character Tony D’Amato in
the 1999 classic Any Given Sunday.
“You
find out life is this game of inches, so is football. Because in either game -
life or football - the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a step
too late or too early and you don't quite make it. One half second too slow,
too fast and you don't quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around
us. They're in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this
team we fight for that inch. On this team we tear ourselves and everyone else
around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch.
Because we know when we add up all those inches, that's gonna make the difference
between winning and losing.”
Post Game with Brookhaven Head Coach Tripp McCarty
Post Game with Brookhaven Quarterback Gage Posey
