Picayune Storms Back in 2nd Half to Overtake Hattiesburg 31-14
by Carey Meitzler
The Picayune Maroon Tide left the field at halftime facing a 14-10 deficit to the Hattiesburg Tigers.
Things looked a little bleak for the Maroon Tide Nation on hand, but whatever the message was at
halftime, it was the right one as the Tide held the Tigers scoreless and put up 21 points of their own
to overtake Hattiesburg 31-14 in Division 3-5A play. With the win, Picayune's overall record is now
4-1 and more importantly, 2-0 in Division 3-5A.
Hattiesburg took the opening kickoff and moved the ball to the midfield stripe (50 yard line) before
being forced to punt. Tiger punter Albert Martin's punt rolled dead at the Tide 16 yard line. Picayune
was unable to convert a first down and punted the ball back to the Tigers with Hattiesburg taking
over at the Tide 45. The Tigers had to punt it back to the Tide and were able to down the ball at
the Tide 6 yard line.
With 5:12 left in the first quarter, Picayune went to work and put together an impressive 12 play
94 yard drive that carried over into the second quarter. On the drive, Picayune was in punt
formation, facing 4 and 2 yards to go, when the Tigers jumped off sides and gave the Tide new
life. After the penalty, the Tide converted two first downs and had the ball at their own 45 yard
line when sophomore tailback Robert Jackson picked up 9 yards on the last play of the quarter
moving the ball to the Tiger 46. On the first play of the 2nd quarter, sophomore fullback Dale
Meitzler found a hole in the middle and motored to the Tiger 26 yard line. Jackson then picked
up 16 yards to move it to the 10 yard line. From there, senior Desmond McDougle ran it in to
put the Tide on the board with 10:59 showing on the clock. Senior Scott Hillery added the
conversion for a 7-0 lead.
After a touchback on the ensuing kickoff by Hillery, Hattiesburg gave the ball to their talented
junior tailback Jonathan “Bubba” Kirksey and he raced 80 yards for a touchdown. Chris Hunt
added the PAT and the game was tied at 7-7 with 10:39 left in the quarter.
Picayune's next drive ended on a missed 46 yard field goal, but on the first play after the miss,
the Tide's senior defensive tackle Nigel Thomas knocked the ball loose from Tiger quarterback
Cedric Jones and senior free safety Ryan Detillier pounced on it at the Tiger 34 yard line.
Picayune move the ball to the 14 yard line where the drive stalled and Hillery kicked a 31
yard field goal for a 10-7 advantage with 3:50 on the clock.
Hattiesburg again wasted no time responding as Kirksey ran virtually untouched on the first
play after the kickoff for a 75 yard touchdown. Hunt kicked the extra point to put the Tigers
up 14-10 with 3:35 left.
Picayune's next possession ended when Scott Hillery, winded from running a long pass route
on third down, missed a 49 yard field goal attempt.
As the Tide returned for the second half, it was apparent the Tide intended to go right at
Hattiesburg . On the first play from scrimmage, senior tailback Cody Bales busted off a run
for 24 yards moving the ball to the Tiger's 47 yard line. The Tide continued to run right at
the Tigers and would eventually face a 3rd and goal from the 5 yard line. Junior quarterback
Alex Riser handed off to Bales, who started to his right and then quickly handed the ball to
senior Ryan Detillier, who was heading back to the left. The result was a touchdown and
coupled with Hillery's perfect PAT, the Tide led 17-14 with 5:46 left in the 3rd quarter.
L-R: Stephen Hall, Ryan Detillier, Desmond McDougle
Hattiesburg came back, starting at their 26 yard line after Hillery's kickoff, and drove to the
Tide 26 yard line. On a first down play, the Tigers fumbled the snap and senior strong safety
Stephen Hall wrestled the ball away from two Tigers to give the Maroon Tide the ball at
their own 27 yard line with :42 left in the third quarter.
Picayune was unable to move the ball and punted it back to Hattiesburg at the Tiger 37 yard
line on the second play of the 4th quarter.
The Tigers converted a first down, but the Maroon Tide defense hunkered down and stopped
Kirksey on fourth down. Senior defensive end Monquiel Massey and senior defensive tackle
Jeffery Stewart stuffed the talented running back resulting in a one yard loss and the Tide took
over on downs at their own 38 yard line.
L-R: Monquiel Massey, Jeffrey Stewart, Tim Gaff
On the next play, Riser rolled to his left and found Bales all alone at the Tide 45 yard line.
Bales took in the pass near the left sideline, cut back to his right, and out ran the Tiger
secondary to the end zone for a 62 yard touchdown. Hillery added the point after touch-
down and Picayune led 24-14 with 7:47 left in the game.
Hattiesburg next possession ended when junior linebacker Brent Acker sacked Cedric Jones
for a 7 yard losss at the Tiger 43 on 4th down.
Picayune put the game away driving the 43 yards behind the running of senior fullback Tim Gaff
and Cody Bales. Gaff, who did not play last week, and play sparingly in the first half, had runs
of 8 and 12 yards on the drive, the latter setting up the Tide with a first down at the Tiger 17
yard line. Bales ran the ball for 11 yards to the 6 yard line and Desmond McDougle got his
second touchdown of the night as he ran it in from there with :25 left in the game. Hillery's
PAT made the final 31-14.
Picayune rushed the ball 48 times for 250 yards. Cody Bales finished with 112 yards on
19 rushes. Sophomore Robert Jackson, who gave the Tide a needed lift in the first half,
finished with 10 rushes for 49 yards. Gaff, who also handles the punting for the Maroon
Tide, finished with 26 yards on 4 carries, all coming in the second half. Detillier ran the
ball 5 times for 28 yards. Alex Riser passed for 117 yards, completing 4 of 9 attempts on
the night.
Kirksey finished with 279 yards on 29 carries for Hattiesburg which accounted for the
majority of their 320 yards rushing.
Next week, Picayune travels to Meridian to take on the Wildcats, while Hattiesburg
(4-2, 0-2) will host Natchez .