Hattiesburg’s impressive season turnaround continued last week as the Tigers took down Brookhaven 27-8. The Tigers are now one win away from guaranteeing a playoff spot and are in the heart of winning the region title.
“You have to focus on winning this week and not looking ahead or looking behind,” Hattiesburg coach Tony Vance said. “You just have to focus on this week and the task at hand. We try to make sure our kids understand where we are and what’s at stake every week.
“These last three games are going to determine who finishes in our region.”
Hattiesburg’s (4-4, 4-0) offense has averaged 32.7 points per game in the last four games. This success is due mainly to quarterback Deuce Vance returning from injury four weeks ago. Last week, the sophomore ran for three touchdowns against Brookhaven.
Despite the recent success, Hattiesburg faces what could be one of, if not the, most brutal three-game stretches to close out the season. The next three games will easily decide the winner of Region 3-5A, as it includes Wayne County (6-2, 4-0), West Jones (6-1, 4-0) and rival Laurel (4-3, 2-1).
“These three teams are probably going to be playoff teams,” Vance said. “If we don’t take care of business, we’ll be on the outside looking in. We understand, and we know we have to take it one game at a time, try to take care of our business, and control what we can control. We just have to keep things in perspective.”
The Tigers open that stretch against Wayne County, who defeated Natchez 33-12 to extend its four-game win streak. Notably, the War Eagles’ two losses are a 26-23 defeat to Oak Grove and a 21-14 loss to Pascagoula.
The most impressive part of Wayne County has been its defense, which has held teams to 21 points per game, and in the last four games, that number has dropped to 10.7 per game. This season, the defense has racked up 12 fumble recoveries and five interceptions.
“Defensively, they’ve been back and forth,” Vance said. “They are an odd front and are either 3-3 stack or in a 5-3 look just depending on what scheme they are going against. They’ve very multiple. They are back and forth between those fronts and will play some 4-man front. I think the one constant is the physicality they bring.
“They’ve got a really good defense. They play hard. The linebackers are really good. The defensive line has a lot of size, and the secondary is a bunch of guys that like to hit. They are talented on defense. It’s guys that are going to be around the ball at the end of the whistle. They have a lot of speed on defense. We’ll have our hands full dealing with them.”
On offense, the War Eagles have averaged 30 points per game. Leading the offense is quarterback Carter Hankins, who has tossed for 924 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions. His top target is Jalen Jones, who has hauled in 612 yards and nine touchdowns.
“Offensively, they are back and forth between the Wing-T and shotgun in almost every possession, but that doesn’t change their (style).. They are a lot similar to us on offense.
“I think their offense is one of the most complete offenses that we have seen. I think the quarterback is a guy that makes them go. He’s a senior and is obviously the leader of that group. He does a great job throwing the football. He’s real accurate. They’ll put you to sleep with run after run and then hit you with a play-action over the top. (Jones) is their leading receiver. He’s a guy that’s dangerous. He wins the one-on-one almost every time you pop the film on. He’s a guy that can beat you by himself.”
Hattiesburg hosts Wayne County at D.I. Patrick Stadium, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
“We have to stop them running the football and not give up big plays in the passing game,” Vance said. “We have to create some turnovers. I think that’s the key for us. Offensively, we have got to take care of the football. We’ve had way too many turnovers the last two weeks. We have to take care of the football and execute. We have to keep ourselves out of third and long and not get behind the sticks with penalties. Those things have hampered us the last couple of weeks. We have to do a better job in those areas.”
