By CURTIS ROCKWELL

Item Sports Editor

The last time Picayune and D’Iberville met, it was a game the Maroon Tide would like to forget.

The Maroon Tide hopes to make the latest meeting one to remember.

The last time the teams met, D’Iberville smacked Picayune 49-21. It is the largest margin of defeat in Dodd Lee’s 12 years at the helm of the Maroon Tide.

Picayune’s 27-21 over the Wayne County not only was the first ever victory over WCHS but also wrapped up the second spot in Region 3-5A and earned the Maroon Tide a home playoff game.

Meanwhile, D’Iberville beat arch-rival St. Martin 24-0 and earned the third seed in Region 4-5A, setting up Friday’s opening round Class 5A South State playoff match-up between the Warriors and Picayune at 7 p.m., Friday.

Lee will unleash standout junior running back Jamal Hall on the Warriors. Hall has rushed for 1,756 yards and scored 20 touchdowns so far this season. He is averaging 175 yards on the ground per game, and has registered four games where he ran for over 200 yards in a contest.

The Warriors will counter with defensive end Dylan Holley, one of the top linemen in South Mississippi, trying to stop Hall.

The 6-foot-3, 275-pound Holley had 13 tackles, including three for negative yards, in the win over St. Martin.

The winner of this game will face the winner of the Moss Point-Brookhaven game. The Maroon Tide will hit the road in the second round no matter who wins that game, travelling to either the Tigers or Panthers. Moss Point smacked Picayune 41-19, while the Tide beat Brookhaven 47-14.