Cougars, Simpson limp into conference title game

Published 12:00 am Thursday, October 16, 2003

[10/16/03]Sitting in the field house at Central Hinds Academy on Monday, the players watched film of Simpson Academy’s 56-0 victory over East Rankin on Oct. 3.

They looked on intensely as Simpson made crushing hits, forced fumbles and ran over their opponents.

On Friday, Central Hinds (6-2, 4-0) will get an up-close and personal view of Simpson (7-0, 4-0) as the two teams square off in Mendenhall for the Conference 3-AA championship.

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To add to the challenge, Central Hinds will be without star running back and linebacker Craig Phillips. He injured his knee in last week’s 7-2 win over Sharkey-Issaquena (5-3) and is expected to miss at least a week.

“It’s a big blow,” Central Hinds coach Kenny Granberry said. “It’s probably more psychological than anything else because he’s been the leader offensively and defensively pretty much the last two years.”

Phillips and sophomore quarterback John Mark Bridges are largely responsible for the Cougars’ success. Last year, the team finished 6-5 on the year and 3-2 in the conference, just missing the playoffs.

Granberry thinks adding Bridges into the mix certainly has helped his team.

“It’s allowed us to do some things we wanted to do all along,” he said. “That’s kind of balanced our offense up with our passing game. Last couple of years we couldn’t do that quite as much because we just didn’t throw the ball very well.”

The game against Simpson determines not only the conference champion, but also who plays at home and who travels in the first round of the playoffs. Regardless of Friday’s outcome, Central Hinds is in the postseason.

“I haven’t ever played in a district championship and I know none of the other boys have neither,” Bridges said. “That’d be pretty neat just knowing that. And then we got to the playoffs, something we haven’t done since ’95. We’re all excited because we’re going to the playoffs.”

Bridges has thrown for 771 yards and seven touchdowns through the Cougars’ first seven games. Phillips has rushed for 819 yards on 97 carries.

But neither takes credit for the team’s success.

“We’ve got a real good work ethic and a lot of people that want to do good,” said Phillips, who played quarterback last season and wide receiver in his sophomore year. “We’ve got a bunch of senior leadership and a bunch of talent. Everybody works real hard at what they’re doing and take it serious.”

While he can’t stand being sidelined for the biggest game of the year, Phillips isn’t too worried about his replacements.

“We’ve got a bunch of other backs that can take my spot and they’ll be good,” he said. “We’re going to work more on our passing game, probably, because they have such a good run defense.”

He said he’ll do whatever he can to help the team win.

“I’ll just motivate them and talk to them. I’ll try to watch as much film as I can to pick up on stuff, and let them know,” he said.

After a mediocre start, Simpson has shut out its last four opponents by an average of 60-0, but those teams have a combined 6-25 record.

Granberry said that makes it difficult to get a grasp on just how good Simpson really is.

“People seem to choke at the first of the game and turn the ball over,” he said. “Then Simpson’s good enough that they just feed off these mistakes and get better and better.”

Simpson is suffering from a painful injury of its own as its top running back, Dan Napier, will miss the game with an ankle injury.

“He’s a big, 200-pound back,” Simpson coach Billy Wayne Hankins said. “Losing him hurts us when we’re trying to just run against folks.”

Despite Simpson’s lopsided wins, Granberry thinks the two teams are about even in talent and expects a tight game.

“Like all good teams, if you make a mistake, they make you pay for it,” he said. “In a big game, mistakes are usually what makes the difference if the two teams are relatively close.”