By Robert Wilson
Coach Sam Williams took Brandon to new heights with his exciting offenses, averaging 35 points per game and leading the Bulldogs to three state runner-up finishes in the past four seasons.
Brandon is becoming known this season as a rugged defensive team under first-year head coach Lance Pogue and Clinton was the latest team to find out the hard way about how good Pogue’s defensive unit is.
Brandon’s defense kept Clinton out of the end zone all four quarters – and now has kept its opponents out of the end zone for six consecutive quarters – and took advantage of six Clinton turnovers as the Bulldogs won their second straight game with a 14-9 victory in a MHSAA Class 7A non-region Metro Jackson matchup before an estimated crowd of 8,500 at Brandon’s Bulldog Field.
Pogue – who now is two wins shy of 250 career wins along with five state championships and one national title – is using this formula to try to win Brandon’s first state football championship in school history.
Brandon – playing without one of the top running backs in the country in junior Tyson Robinson (out with a hamstring injury for the second straight week) – improved to 2-1.
Clinton dropped to 2-1.
Pogue improved his career record to 248-71, a 77.7 percent winning percentage (one of the best in Mississippi history for coaches with 200 career wins) in 25 seasons, including a 126-17 record (88.1 percent winning percentage), five state titles and one national championship in his 10 seasons at South Panola.
In addition to not allowing a touchdown to Clinton, Brandon didn’t allow a TD to Madison Central in the second half in last week’s 17-7 win.
“I will not apologize for not getting style points,” said Pogue, who is not only the head coach but also the defensive coordinator. “I would much rather win 14-9 than lose 45-40 or high scores like that. I like to be on the side of winning. We are kind of a blue collar team. We have a bunch of tough kids. We have a simple scheme for them one defense. We are playing within their strengths and their ability. I’m very pleased with them. We really have not given up the big play. We are making the opposing teams put long drives together and that’s hard to do without a mistake like they did last night. We hope to stay heahty and continue to get better. We don’t want to peak too soon. We want to hit our stride around division and playoff time.”
Brandon senior defensive back Elijah Morey had three interceptions, and senior defensive back and Colorado commitment Preston Ashley – one of four Brandon players on the Performance Therapy/Mississippi Scoreboard Preseason Metro Jackson Elite 11 Team – and senior defensive back Lahare Boils and had one interception each. Also, Brandon senior defensive lineman Cameron Williams had a fumble recovery.
“We are sticking to our keys and are coming together as a team,” said Ashley, is rated as the No. 12 player in Mississippi and the No. 24 safety in the country in the Class of 2026 by 247 Sports and has 24 Division I offers, including nine from the SEC. “We are being very coachable at critical times and that’s what has helped us win as a defense.”
Clinton senior Braylon Spann kicked a 40-yard field goal – the first of three for the game – for a 3-0 lead with 2 minutes, 3 seconds to play in the first quarter.
Brandon senior running back CJ Campbell – who gained 159 yards on 22 carries – scored on a 59-yard run for a 7-3 Brandon lead 10:26 to play in the second quarter.
Spann kicked a 29-yard field goal to close the Brandon gap to 7-6 with 3:22 to play before halftime.
Brandon junior quarterback Sladen Shack completed a 20-yard TD pass to senior wide receiver Lahare Boils for a 14-6 Brandon lead with 40 seconds to play before halftime.
Spann kicked his third goal – a 38-yarder – to close the Brandon gap to 14-9 with 11:09 to play in the fourth quarter.
The 5-foot-5, 165-pound Campbell led Brandon in rushing for the second straight game in place of Robinson, who is rated the No. 4 running back and the No. 42 player in the country in the Class of 2027 by 247 Sports who has 19 offers, including 10 for the SEC.
“We didn’t have our best weapon in Tyson for the past two weeks,” Pogue said. “Hopefully, we will get him back next week and if not then, then the next week. We don’t want to rush it. You can re-injure that hamstring and we don’t want that to happen. We have other guys stepping up, especially Campbell. He’s making some big plays. It is creating depth. He is a smaller guy with a big heart. It’s hard to find him and the defense loses him and he can find a crack. I’m impressed with him.”
First-year Clinton head coach Hamer Morgan was promoted from his defensive coordinator position when John Carr took the Starkville High position. He has been an assistant coach at Clinton since 2015 and was a part of Arrows’ state championship team in 2016 with Cam Akers, now playing in the NFL. Morgan was head coach at Forest from 2012-2014 and was an assistant from 2001-2011 and was a part of Forest’s MHSAA Class 3A state runner-up finishes in 2008 and 2010.
“I’m really proud of how our kids fought to keep it close,” Morgan said. “We had too many mistakes against a really good Brandon team. Our defense and special teams played really well. We’ve just got to clean up a few things on offense. Our kids were resilient.”
“Clinton has a good team,” Pogue said. “Coach Morgan does an outstanding job in his first year as head coach. They are pulling it together. They are hard to beat. They are a young team. Nobody is going to want to line up against them in a playoff game.”
