Picayune at Meridian Oct 8th
Barry Harper
I really don't know what was said at halftime last Friday night, and maybe nothing at all was said. Regardless, the Picayune
Maroon Tide football team emerged from the dressing room for the second half with an attitude. This attitude was one of
'REFUSE TO LOSE'. You know, the attitude that seniors get when it dawns on them that this is their last time to play Hatties-
burg , maybe their last time to make the playoffs, and their last time to impress the home crowd. Now don't get me wrong. It
was a total team effort. There were major contributions by juniors and sophomores alike. However, if the truth be known, I bet
the seniors rallied their comrades at halftime and they responded. Way to go guys!
I thought Hattiesburg really had some great talent on the field. Their tailback showed me that he has enough speed to play on any
level. Their new coach definitely had them more organized on offense and defense. However, their team seemed to lose their
confidence in the second half when Picayune started to really get after them. It is a lot easier for a new coach to instill an offense
or defense than to instill a new attitude. It is easy to have a good attitude when you are winning, but it is very hard to keep that
same attitude when you are losing. When Hattiesburg got behind in the second half, they started to hang their heads and walk
on and off the field. These are the types of bad habits which are hard to break for a new coach. I wish them the best of luck,
and we could see them again in the playoffs. Now, Meridian , WOW!
One newspaper early in the year reported that Meridian had more college prospects than anyone in the state. The only problem
for recruiters is that they will have to wait one more year to sign these kids to scholarships, because most of them are juniors. Their
junior tailback Cordera Eason (6'2" 220 lbs) could very well be ranked the top junior football player in the nation. He is simply
the best high school sophomore football player I have ever watched in person. It will be a great challenge for our defense to
contain him. Oh, by the way, they have another running back (Derrick Davis) that is also very good. They are very well coached
and they like to run the football just like the Maroon Tide.
This game could be over by 9:15 p.m., if it was not for homecoming festivities. I don't know how kids react these days when
another school schedules you for homecoming. However, back in the day, it made me mad.
The way I see it- Picayune 24 Meridian 21 in overtime!
Carey Meitzler
Kudos to the “guys in Maroon hats” for their 31-14 come from behind win over those pesky Felines from Hattiesburg last Friday.
I had my doubts at times, but never lost my faith in our guys. Truly, remarkable second half as the Tide held the Tigahs (Barry's
name for ‘em) scoreless for 24 minutes. Hats off to the coaches for making the needed adjustments and the players for responding.
A couple of my hidden performances for last week are Josh Pigott, Levi Slaydon, and Ryan Detillier. Josh was around the football
on both the 3rd down and 4th down stops around our 40 yard line. Levi just has a good nose for the ball and seems to find it or
whoever has it on a regular basis. Ryan was solid on both sides of the ball. Scored a touchdown, caught a big pass, and blocked
on the sweep as well as making some crucial tackles on defense. He also cleaned one of the H'burg receivers clock over the middle.
Zinger of the Week: Clydell Jones' block on an unsuspecting Feline on the Riser to Bales 62 yard catch and run. I think the defender
is still looking for the navigational beacons to find his way back to the huddle. I am just glad the young man wasn't seriously hurt.
This week, it is the Meridian Wildcats. The ‘Cats (as they like to be called) are the biggest bunch we've played in a couple of years.
With 17 returning starters including Division I lineman Chris Spencer (6-2, 290, Sr), T.J. Harper (6-1, 300, Jr), and Brian Leggett
(6-3, 290, Sr), they look unbeatable. Add in the talented backfield that employs QB Justin Baylor (5-11, 180, Jr) and the Herschel
Walker look-alike's of Derrick Davis (6-0, 220, Jr) and Cordea Eason (6-1,220, Jr) and they have a formidable offensive unit.
Baylor had a breakout game passing for over 200 plus yards against Natchez (59-34 win).
On defense, DB Jamie Hill (6-0, 190, Jr.), DT Jeremy Finley (6-2, 350, Sr), and DT Rolando Hardaway (6-2, 322, Sr) are solid.
To win, the Tide has to do two very important things. One, avoid turnovers and turnarounds (brought the word back after a two-week
hiatus). They are crucial in every game, especially this one. Secondly, we have to disrupt their blocking scheme. They like to run a lot
of traps, double tight sets, particularly the counter “trey” where the guard and tackle pull and go storming across to the other side while
one of those big backs wait for them to clear the way. I saw highlights two weeks ago on WDAM TV 7 in their game (really wasn't
much of one) and H'burg didn't appear to be challenging the ‘Cats lineman. We can't let it happen.
I feel good about the kicking game with Scott Hillery and with the return of Tim Gaff to handle the punting, I feel we may have a slight
advantage in this area. Speaking of Gaff, what a gutsy performance he gave last week. Hurt foot or no hurt foot, his drive, determination,
and senior leadership went a long way in determining the outcome in the second half. He's a gamer. He means a lot to our team.
So, after telling all these things about Meridian , why go up the interstate 150 miles to play? Why not just mail it in? A couple of reasons.
One: Our guys will not be intimidated. Two: I am not sure if they can completely stop us. Three: I saw something last week: The Tide
players will do whatever it takes individually to get the best result for the team. It's hard to explain in this column due to space and time
constraints, but I saw things on my copy of the game that bear it out. I think these guys are focused and know what a challenge the
‘Cats will be. I think our defense is getting better each week and our offense is very balanced and has good personnel.
Some will be surprised by this; others will not. Picayune 14 Meridian 13
Note: Smithway Visuals (Click Here for details) provides a quality film of Tide games. It's worth every dollar to get one each week.
Good stuff.