The Maroon Tide will have the first seed in the first round of the playoffs after defeating the Bearcats Friday night.

During the first half the Maroon Tide scored on every possession.

Three minutes into the game, the Maroon Tide ran four plays for 53-yards for their first touchdown of the night when Dante Dowdell toted the ball to paydirt from two yards out.

In the Maroon Tide’s next possession, Chris Davis took a hand off 70-yards for another Maroon Tide touchdown. With 5:25 left in the first quarter, the Maroon Tide was on top 14-0. Every PAT on the night was good by Morgan Craft.

The Long Beach Bearcats failed to find any rhythm on offense and gave the Maroon Tide possession. Quarterback Dawson Underwood then connected with Justin Martz for a 55-yard touchdown pass, and pushed the Maroon Tide lead to 21-0.

The Maroon Tide’s next possession finished quickly with five plays for 72-yards. That drive was capped off by Dante Dowdell carrying the ball for a 37-yard touchdown. The Maroon Tide led 28-0 with 9:16 in the second quarter.

The Maroon Tide’s final score before halftime came in another five plays for 75 yards thanks to Chris Davis and his 72-yard carry for a touchdown. The Maroon Tide headed into halftime with a comfortable 35-0 lead over the Bearcats.

In the third quarter, the Maroon Tide continued where they left off on offense, running eight plays for 65 yards. On second and two on the Bearcats 13-yard line, Dorian Roberson toted the ball in for a Maroon Tide touchdown, making it a 42-0 lead with 7:05 in the third quarter. After another Bearcat three and out, the Maroon Tide received the ball on their 24-yard line. Darrell Smith added to the Maroon Tide lead by running 69-yards on third and two for the touchdown, making the score 49-0.

Picayune’s last score of the night came from the special teams unit. The Bearcats attempted a 16-yard field goal with 2:37 left in the fourth quarter but the Maroon Tide defense was aggressive till the last. Kyler King blocked on the Bearcats attempt, and Karson Lauge was right there to scoop up the ball and run it back for a Maroon Tide 84 yard touchdown. To cap off the night, Jamal Simmons kicked the PAT through the uprights for the Maroon Tide final 56-0 win over Long Beach Bearcats.

After the win Head Coach Cody Stogner said, “We came out and we knew we had to take care of business, the game plan the coaching staff put together was a great game plan. Our guys executed it to the best of their ability and we came out on top.”

This win secures the Maroon Tide with the number one seed in the district championship.

“I hope we’re still playing five weeks from now and next week is a great opportunity for us to get better going into the playoffs,” said Stogner.

The Maroon Tide moves to 9-1 and will travel next week to play their last game of the regular season against the Gautier Gautier Gators (6-2) on Nov. 5 at 7 p.m.