Picayune Wins Opener Over Moss Point 39-16
By Carey Meitzler
The Picayune Maroon Tide opened their 2004 season with a 39-16 win over the home standing Moss
Point Tigers at Dantzler Stadium. Picayune's win was it's first at Moss Point since 1982. In 2003,
Picayune defeated the Tigers at Picayune by a score of 30-0 to complete the home and home sweep.
The Maroon Tide forced four Tiger fumbles on the night and converted two of them into touchdowns.
Moss Point 's opening drive stalled at the Tide 34 yard line as C.J. Bailey's fourth down pass to
Markiest Sanders sailed over the receiver's head out the end zone. Picayune came back and put t
ogether an 11 play, 66 yard drive taking six minutes off the clock. Ryan Detillier scored from 14 yards
out. The PAT was wide right and Picayune led 6-0 with 2:11 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, Stephen Hall recorded a Tiger fumble at the Moss Point 25 yard line. Three
plays later, Corderis (Richards) Brown scored the first of his three touchdowns on a 5 yard run with
1:07 left on the clock. The 2-point attempt try was no good and the lead was 12-0.
Left to Right: Corderis (Richards) Brown, Alex Riser, Desmond McDougle
Picayune put together a 5 play, 65 yard drive in the second quarter. On third down, Alex Riser hit
Desmond McDougle over the middle for a 53 yard gain moving the ball to the Tiger 12 yard line.
Two plays later, Tim Gaff sprinted in from 8 yards out for the touchdown. Scott Hillery kicked the
point after touchdown to give the Tide a 19-0 lead with 4:36 left in the second quarter.
Moss Point got on the scoreboard with: 09 left before halftime when C.J. Bailey connected on a
14 yard touchdown pass to Markiet Sanders. Brad Bingham added the point after touchdown and
the half ended with Picayune holding a 19-9 advantage.
The Maroon Tide's first drive in the third quarter stalled at their own 35. The Tide was forced to
punt and the snap sailed over punter Tim Gaff's head inside his own 10 yard line. Gaff wisely
kicked the loose ball out the back of the end zone resulting in a safety cutting the Tide lead to
19-9 early in the third quarter.
On the Tigers' next possession, they gave the ball back to the Maroon Tide on a failed fake punt
on fourth down. Picayune took over at the Moss Point 49 yard line and Corderis (Richards) Brown
scored from 1 yard out. The big play in the drive came on a 24 yard pass from Riser to Cody Bales
that move the ball to the one yard line on the play before Richards' touchdown. The extra point was
no good and the lead was 25-9 with 5:13 left in the third quarter.
Moss Point scored on their next possession covering 63 yards in 10 plays with the touchdown
coming on a 10 yard pass from Bailey to Brandon Viverette. One play prior to the touchdown,
it appeared the Tide would take over downs when a fourth down pass fell incomplete. However,
an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play gave the Tigers new life and they scored on the
next play to cut the lead to 25-16 after Bingham's extra point.
With 6:44 left in the game, Corderis (Richards) Brown scored on a 24 yard run. The Tide had got
the ball at the Tiger 29 on a fumble recovery by Donel Smith. Joe Burrage kicked his first varsity
point after touchdown to push the Tide lead to 32-16.
Tyler Lee closed out the Tide scoring with nifty 13 yard run with :12 to play in the game. The Tide
got the opportunity to score when Nigel Thomas recovered a Tiger fumble at their 27 yard line.
Maroon Tide Head Coach Dodd Lee was pleased, but felt his team could play better.
“I'm proud of our kids and any win is a big win with our schedule,” said Lee moments after
the game ended.
“We made a lot of mistakes in the second half on special teams and on some substitutions.
Right now, all I can think about is how we can improve. Most of the time we get 100% effort
and tonight was no difference.”
On next week home opener against Harrison Central, Lee said, “We have to learn to prepare
better this week. It's going to be a huge challenge. I hope a lot of people turn out to see these
kids because they are definitely worth the price of admission.”
Offensively the Tide rushed 41 times for 212 yards. Brown finished with 82 yards on 17 carries.
Tim Gaff had 9 carries for 44 yards while Cody Bales had 9 carries for 44 yards. Alex Riser
completed 5 of his 8 passes for 105 yards.
Bailey finished with 22 completions in 37 attempts for 244 yards and two touchdowns.
Picayune (1-0) will host Harrison Central next Friday with the kickoff scheduled for 7:30pm at Tide Stadium.