The Rebels from Leake received the opening kickoff and drove the ball 62 yards for a touchdown capped off by a 4 yard pass from Will-Lawson Harkins to Sam Wilder, Cameron Brown’s PAT was god and with 7:27 left in the first quarter Leake led 7-0. Simpson answered back quickly when Corbin Hosey scored on a 68 yard run. The try for the 2- point conversion failed and Leake led 7-6 with 6:45 to go in the first quarter. The game turned into a defensive struggle until late in the second quarter. The Cougars got back on the scoreboard with 1:38 left in the half when Michael Winstead took it in from 65 yards out the 2-point conversion failed and Simpson led 12-7.
Any thoughts Leake had of scoring before the half was over were dashed when a Harkins pass was intercepted by Caden Coulson. Halftime score Simpson 12 Leake 7.
The Cougars took the second half kickoff and drove 44 yards capped by a Michael Winstead 3 yard run. The 2- point conversion failed and with 6:48 left in the third quarter Simpson led 18-7. Defense was the name of the game for the rest of the evening. After a Hunter Cline interception, the Cougars looked to ice the game, but they could not get the first downs needed to run out the clock. Lightning would strike the Cougars in the form of a Sam Wilder 90 yard punt return. Cameron Brown added the PAT and with 3:38 left in the game Simpson led 18-14.
Simpson would recover the onside kick, pickup a few first downs, and take their first victory of the year 18-14. The win improved Simpson’s record to 1-1 on the season and made it 11 straight over Leake to increase its series record with Leake to 21-5.
In Junior High action the 7th and 8th Grade lost to Jackson Academy 14-0 and the Junior High lost 27-6 to Jackson Academy.
The Cougars will be at home on Friday, August 31, taking on Oak Forest Academy with the kickoff set for 7 p.m. The Yellow Jackets beat the Cougars last year 34-28 and the Cougars hold a 9-5 series record over the Yellow Jackets. The Junior High Cougars will travel to Leake Academy in Madden on Thursday, August 30, with the 7th and 8th grade starting at 6 p.m. with the Junior High to follow.
