BRANDON — Will Rogers and the Brandon Bulldogs had one goal in mind.
Clinch a playoff spot.
Well the Bulldogs did just that in a 52-33 shootout win over Oak Grove in a crucial Region 3-6A matchup at Bulldog Stadium on Friday night.
“We’ve been in a bunch of big games this year and it feels good to get in the playoffs. No matter what seed you are as long as you’re in,” said Brandon coach Tyler Peterson. “Feels good to get in.”
Sophomore quarterback Will Rogers had a career night to lead Brandon (6-4, 4-1 Region 3-6A) offensively.
Rogers would go 16 of 24 passing for 365 yards with five touchdowns along with an interception.
His top receiver Jonathan Mingo had six catches for 176 yards with three touchdowns.
Mingo’s touchdown passes were from 39, 12 and 51 yards out.
Joshua Montague had a 46-yard touchdown pass to tie the game up at 7 with 8:54 left in the first quarter.
Matt Stowers added a 22-yard touchdown catch.
After Oak Grove scored on the games second play from scrimmage on a 79-yard run by Orlando Simon, Brandon would score on its next three possessions to jump out to a 21-7 lead.
“We’ve been inconsistent on offense, but we’ve got playmakers across the board and they all stepped up tonight,” Peterson said. “We felt like we had a chance to make some big plays tonight and they did.”
John Rhys Plumlee would lead Oak Grove going 22 of 31 passing for 269 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.
His touchdown passes went to Simon, Delatarus Thompson and Jermaine Jackson.
Simon had 133 yards rushing with two touchdowns for the Warriors (5-4, 2-3).
With the help of Meridian beating Petal, Oak Grove must win its last two games to get into the playoffs.
“We had a couple of crucial turnovers that costs us and a couple calls go against but its part of it,” said Oak Grove coach Drew Causey. “We were balanced offensively, but now we got to win out.”
