Wayne County has too much squad for Brookhaven Academy in season opener
Published on Saturday, August 17, 2024, 9:56 am
- The Brookhaven Academy Cougars lost their season opener 34-7 on Friday at Waynesboro. Next week, the Cougars will make their home debut against Hartfield Academy. Photo by Cliff Furr
On paper, Brookhaven Academy and Wayne Academy appeared to be a nearly even matchup based on the teams’ performance last season.
The MAIS 5A Cougars finished 2-8 under former head coach Reggie Lea, while the 4A Jaguars finished 6-6 despite a more lenient schedule.
However, the Wayne Academy Jaguars’ roster has recently been strengthened by some key transfers from Wayne County High School, which has improved their team.
On Friday, at the opening of the 2024 MAIS football season for both programs, the Jaguars in Waynesboro fielded twice as many players as the visiting Cougars from Brookhaven, who fielded 24 players.
That depth advantage for Wayne Academy made the difference as BA took a 7-0 lead, but the Jags controlled the rest of the game and won 34-7. The Cougars (0-1) host Hartfield Academy next Friday at RM “Red” Stuart Field. The Jaguars (1-0) and coach Todd Breeland have next week off.
The game was the debut for new Brookhaven Academy head coach Ryan Ross, and anyone who knows Ross from his time as head coach at Loyd Star earlier in his career knows that his split-back offense is all about ball control and getting into third-and-short situations.
The first drive of the game was the kind that Ross and Cougar fans will hopefully see many more in 2024.
After a 30-minute weather-related delay, the Cougars started their first drive at their own 25-yard line and slowly fought their way through the Wayne defense.
Facing a fourth down and a one-night stand after the first three plays of the drive, BA senior quarterback Braden Revere put the Wayne Academy defense offside with a hard count, allowing for the first down.
Revere, Walt Smith and Trace Garrett took turns carrying the ball on Brookhaven’s first possession, and when the Cougars faced a fourth-and-3 attempt in Wayne territory, it was Smith who scored the first try.
Sophomore Cooper Carr made his first run of the game, scoring a touchdown from the 4-yard line to cap the drive. Overall, BA held the ball for the first nine minutes of the game as they traveled the 75 yards to the end zone on 15 consecutive running plays.
Wayne Academy needed just one play to tie the game when the Jags threw a 55-yard touchdown pass on their first snap to tie the game 7-7. The touchdown pass went to Jaylen Jones, a 6-foot-2 senior wide receiver and one of the Wayne County transfers mentioned above.
Ross and his Cougars tried again on a 4th-and-short on their second drive, but the Wayne defense thwarted the attempt, took control on short field and quickly scored again, taking a 14-7 lead when Jones caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Will McRee.
Two seconds before the end of the second quarter, WA scored another point and took a 21-7 lead.
Wayne won the opening kickoff and deferred it to the second half, and their drive to open the third quarter ended with McRee running down the ground and scoring a touchdown. The final score of the game came when running back Michael Jordan scored for Wayne Academy in the fourth quarter.
Brookhaven Academy had some promising offense that ended by fumble as they put the ball on the ground twice in the second half. The Cougars also threw an interception as they completed just 1 of 4 passes in the game. BA’s defense suffered a turnover of its own when junior Wilson Calcote intercepted a pass in the second half. Hartfield Academy, the defending MAIS 6A state champions, beat Heritage Academy 49-7 in the season opener on Friday.
