By Curtis Rockwell, Sports Editor
The Picayune Item
PICAYUNE —
For the second straight week, Picayune lost the turnover battle.
But more importantly, for the second consecutive game, the Maroon Tide won the overall war.
Homestanding Picayune overcame a sluggish first half that included three turnovers to eventually roll past a scrappy Forrest County AHS squad 49-31 Friday night.
The win pushes Picayune to 2-0 on the season, while the Aggies fall to 1-2 and have lost two straight games for the first time in almost 10 years.
Due in large part to the miscues, the Tide led just 14-10 at halftime before scoring 35 points in the second half to secure the win.
“We should have put the game away in the first half,” Maroon Tide head coach Dodd Lee said. “But you can’t do that when you turn the ball over like that. I thought we did a good job on both sides of the ball except for a few plays here and there on each side.”
Maroon Tide standout tailback Jamal Hall continued his strong play, as he rushed for 260 yards and four scores on 29 carries. He now has 526 yards and six touchdowns in just two games.
It was the Maroon Tide passing game, though, that got the home team on the scorboard first as LaKeith Burton hit tight end Malcom Faciane on a 34 yard scoring strike on Picayune’s first possession of the game.
Hall scored his first touchdown of the night early in the second quarter, on a 43 yard scamper, to make it 14-0.
The Maroon Tide fumbled at the goal line on their next possession, and also missed a fourth down pass from the Aggie six to keep the game close.
Then Aggie quarterback Lucas Dubose hooked up with Tucker Morgan who got behin the Tide defense for a 93 yard touchdown pass.
An Aggie interception on the ensuing Picayune possession resulted in a field goal by Grant McLaurin from 27 yards out to make ith a four point game at intermission.
Hall would end any threats the Aggies had of an upset however, as he broke loose for three scoring runs on Picayune first three possessions of the second half. The senior scored on runs of 7, 6 and 10 yards, with the final dash making it 35-16 early in the final period.
Busted plays by the Picayune defense, however, allowed FCAHS to stay within striking distance as in addition to the first long scoring pass Dubose also connected on a 92 yard scoring strike to LaDarius Perkins and an 80-yard touchdown toss to E.J. Pearson.
“They caught us a couple of times where we didn’t have someone covered,” Lee added. “They fooled us three or four times on defense.”
The Maroon Tide wrapped up the win with a 90 yard kickoff return for a score by Scottie Merrill as well as a 34 yard scoring run by Dereonte Magee.
Pacer Frierson, in addition to several booming kickoffs into th end zone including one that sailed through the uprights, was also perfect for the second straight week on seven extra point attempts.
FCAHS’ Markeyus Johnson closed the scoring out in the final minutes with a 1 yard TD run.
The teams combined for over 200 yards of penalties.
Cody Smith had a fumble recovery for the Maroon Tide on defense.
Picayune will enjoy an open date this week before hosting Pascagoula on Sept. 17th.
