NATCHEZ — The Trinity Episcopal football team was 1:49 from securing a District 5-AA championship Friday night after senior all-purpose back Tip McKenzie took a short pass from quarterback Scott Turner and ran 75 yards to give the Saints a 36-33 lead over Brookhaven Academy.

But three plays later, Brookhaven quarterback Gage Posey found a wide-open Will Lucas on a third-down-and-1 play for a 52-yard touchdown pass. Christian Keene added the extra point, and the Cougars led 40-36 with just 1:03 left in the game.

The Brookhaven defense was able to force an incomplete pass by Turner on fourth down from the Brookhaven 48-yard line on the ensuing possession to take the game and the district title away from the Saints.

“We just got beat tonight,” Trinity head coach David King said.

The Saints and the Cougars battled for the lead all night, and the game featured six lead changes in all.

Brookhaven opened the scoring with a 5-yard run by Posey, and Keene made the extra point to give the Cougars a 7-0 advantage.

Trinity answered with 1:04 to go in the first quarter with a 30-yard pass from Turner to Jacob Sandrock. McKenzie ran for the two-point conversion and the Saints led 8-7 going into the second quarter.

Trinity would pad its lead with a 3-yard run by McKenzie with 8:43 to go in the second. The two-point conversion failed, and Trinity led 14-7.

Midway through the second quarter, Brookhaven cut into Trinity’s advantage, when Posey found Lucas for their first touchdown connection of the game. The kick failed, and the Saints took a one-point lead into the half.

Trinity jumped out early in the second half when Turner found Caleb Cross on a 27-yard pass just three minutes into the half. Jake Winston added the point-after, and Trinity led 21-13.

Brookhaven tied the game on its next possession when Keene found the end zone on a 3-yard run. Keene added a two-point-conversion catch from Posey with 6:23 left in the third quarter.

Twenty seconds later, the Saints answered with a score of their own. McKenzie caught a 65-yard pass from Turner, and Winston added the point-after to give Trinity a 28-21 lead.

Keene then showed his ability to make big plays for Brookhaven. With 9:08 left in the game, he took a Trinity-punt 63 yards for a touchdown to make the score 28-27 after the two-point try failed. On the Saints’ following possession, Keene intercepted a pass and returned it 37 yards for a score to give the Cougars their first lead since the opening touchdown of the game.

After the two teams exchanged punts, McKenzie gave the Saints the lead back with his 75-yard reception.

But the Saints’ defense was unable to hold the late lead, when Posey found Lucas for the final score of the game.

Trinity out-gained the Cougars 456 to 347 on the night but gave away three turnovers, while Brookhaven had perfect ball security.

Turner finished his night throwing for 336 yards and four touchdowns. McKenzie caught three passes for 152 yards and two scores.

The loss makes Trinity (9-2, 2-1) the No. 2 seed going into the playoffs out of District 5-AA. Brookhaven (9-2, 3-0) will be the top seed.

“It’s a tough loss, but we’ll regroup,” King said. “That’s all I have to say.”