November 23, 2007
Moss Point upends Tide 17-10 in Overtime
by Carey Meitzler
The Moss Point Tigers advanced to the Class 4A South State Championship by defeating Picayune 17-10 in overtime at Moss
Point's Dantzler Stadium before an estimated 6,000 fans.
The Maroon Tide took the opening kick off and moved the ball to the Tiger 30 before a fumble killed the drive.
After an exchange of punts, Moss Point drove 79 yards in 8 plays with the touchdown coming on a 7 yard pass from Quayshan
Williams to Kevin Barkley. Jason Loris point after made it 7-0 with 11:00 left in the second quarter.
Photo by John Young
Drew Cole returns a kick off to the Tide 48 yard line late in the second quarter.
Picayune's next possession ended at the Moss Point 41 on an interception, but Jake Martinez recovered a Tiger fumble on the very
next play to give the Maroon Tide ball at the 40. Picayune was unable to convert a first down and Moss Point took over on downs.
The Tigers drove to the Tide 6 yard line and got a 23 yard field goal from Loris with :54 left in the half.
Picayune's Drew Cole grabbed the ensuing kick off at his 14 yard line and raced it to the Picayune 48 yard line. On first down,
Caleb Hickman connected with Albert Richard on a pass to put the ball at the Moss Point 26. On fourth and nine, Hickman
completed a pass to Chris Nixon for a first down at the 15 yard line with :03. As Picayune lined up for a field goal attempt,
Moss Point called consecutive timeouts in an attempt to ice kicker Matt Dragon, who booted the 32 yard field goal as time expired
to cut the lead to 10-3.
Photo by John Young
Matt Dragon (17) kicks a 32 yard field goal as Caleb Hickman (18) provides a perfect hold.
As the second half unfolded, both defenses asserted themselves with each team punting on their first possessions. Moss Point punted
a second time with Picayune taking over at their own 35. The Maroon Tide went for it on 4th and 3 at their own 43 and Moss Point
held them and took over at the Tide 44.
The Maroon Tide defense rose to occasion with three consecutive Tiger plays loosing yardage back to the Moss Point 37 yard line.
Picayune took over at their 36 and move the ball to the Tiger 27 yard line. On fourth down and 11, Hickman's pass slipped through
Nixon's hands in the end zone on the last play of the third quarter, giving the ball back to the Tigers.
Picayune held the Tigers and Huey Stockstill blocked the Tiger punt giving the ball to the Maroon Tide at the Tiger 13 yard line.
On second down, Hickman found Cole in the left flat and Cole raced untouched into the left corner of the end zone for an 11 yard
touchdown pass. Dragon's point after made 10-10 with 9:07 left.
On Moss Point's next possession, Brandon Marble stuffed Moss Point running back Meco Brown for a one yard loss on third down.
On fourth down, Marble blocked the Tiger punt and Picayune had the ball at the Moss Point 20.
Picayune, unable to consistently move the ball against Moss Point all night, attempted a 30 yard field by Dragon that just missed outside
the left upright.
Moss Point took over with 4:31 left and moved the ball to the Picayune 15, but a holding penalty and a Martinez sack of Williams for a
15 yard loss put the ball back to the 42 and out of field goal range. On fourth down, Brown caught a pass and moved it to the 22 yard
line as time expired.
In overtime, Moss Point scored on a 1 yard run by Williams and Loris kicked the extra point for a 17-10 lead.
Picayune ran twice, netting one yard. On third down, Hickman's pass to Martinez was knocked away inside the five yard line.
On fourth down, a fade route intended for Nixon fell incomplete to end the game.
The vaunted Tiger defense held the Maroon Tide to 82 yards rushing.Moss Point (12-1) will travel to take on Laurel, a 19-7 winner
over West Jones.
Picayune finishes 10-2, both losses coming at the hands of Moss Point. The Maroon Tide is eliminated in the third round for the second
straight year after losing a 39-31 decision to eventual 2006 4-A champion Wayne County.