With the preliminaries in Region 3-6A in its rearview mirror, Hattiesburg takes aim at a two-game road gauntlet to finish the regular season, and the Tigers are carrying with them a full head of steam.
HHS disposed of Pearl River Central in dominant fashion, rolling over the Blue Devils 42-0 in region action Friday night at D.I. Patrick Stadium.
Hattiesburg remained undefeated at 8-0 overall and 2-0 in region, officially qualifying for the Class 6A playoffs, and now faces road trips to Terry next Friday and West Jones on November 7, with the region championship on the line.
“I thought we came out and played well,” said Hattiesburg coach Tony Vance. “That’s what we challenge our guys to do, come out and play well each week, and get better at some things each week.
“I thought we did that tonight, starting with the first drive and continuing on through the first half. I’m proud of our guys, proud of our coaching staff, the way we prepared.”
Despite the defeat, PRC (2-6, 1-2) remained in contention for a berth in the playoffs.
“We’re getting better each week as the season goes along,” said Blue Devils coach John Feaster, who is at Carriere after stints as head coach at Stone and Moss Point. “The kids fought hard, but Hattiesburg is very good. This looks like their year.”
It sure looked that way Friday night as the Tigers were brutally efficient in a nearly-perfect first half that saw them score touchdowns on all five of their possessions in the first 24 minutes of play.
It began right from the start. HHS took the opening kickoff and used the ground game to drive 75 yards in 10 plays.
Senior quarterback Deuce Vance ran for 19 yards to kick-start the drive, and senior Demarcus Baker carried six times on the drive for 41 yards, including runs of 10 and 11 yards to set the Tigers up first-and-goal at the Blue Devil 1-yard-line, and he finished the drive from there.
Baker has been mostly used as a defensive back this season, and those would be his only carries of the night, but Hattiesburg coach Tony Vance like the added depth Baker brings to an already deep backfield.
“He’s one of those guys we’ve been counting on,” said Vance. “We’ve kind of been saving him, but we wanted to know what he could do, and we got him ready to go in the backfield, and he’ll help us with our depth back there.”
Indeed, Hattiesburg ran the ball 34 times for 206 yards, an average of 6.1 yards per rush. Vance finished with 83 yards on 13 carries and three touchdowns to lead the Tigers on the ground.
“It all starts with the big guys,” said Deuce Vance. “I can’t say how much I appreciate those boys. They do a great job working hard day-in and day-out, getting better each day.”
PRC’s initial possession went much like all the rest would go: a short gain, a loss on a run and an incomplete pass on third down. For the game, the Blue Devils only mustered 62 yards of offense and three first downs.
Getting the ball in Blue Devil territory after a 25-yard punt return from junior Anthony Ponce, Hattiesburg needed just seven plays to travel 36 yards for a touchdown.
“We came out for Senior Night, and everybody wanted to play hard because it’s our last home game, or at least our last guaranteed home game,” said Deuce Vance. “We wanted to come out with a chip on our shoulder, and I thought we played pretty hard tonight.”
Vance had a 16-yard run to convert a third down, threw for 9 yards to senor Jackson Sanders and had runs of 6 yards and 1 yard for the score.
Senior Kaden Smith had a sack on Pearl River Central’s second possession to go with a tackle-for-loss on the Blue Devils’ second possession, and another three-and-out gave the Tigers the ball in plus-territory at the PRC 42.
“We’ve got a good dominant 11 we put out there each week (on defense),” said Smith. “We put a really good game plan in every week, with the coaches behind us. We practice hard, then go out on Friday night and dominate.”
This time it took HHS just four plays to get in the end zone. Junior Toney Scott started the drive with a 15-yard run, then Vance had runs of 3 and 13 yards before sophomore Haedyn Leverette powered in from 6 yards out.
PRC finally got a first down to start the second quarter, and a 51-yard punt by junior Qorday Russell backed the Tigers up at their own 18. But having established the run, Hattiesburg took the air as Vance found a rhythm passing the ball.
The Tigers converted a third down with a 16-yard pass from Vance to junior Tristan Keys, Leverette picked up 6 on a third-and-1 from midfield, then Vance connected with Ponce for 14 yards and Keys for 23 to the Blue Devil 7.
It took three tries, but Vance got it in from 4 yards out to cap the 11-play, 82-yard march and a 28-0 lead.
“We had to get going with the run game, and the passing game came along with it,” said Deuce Vance. “We’ve got some great receivers and they make plays.”
Hattiesburg finished things off with another three-and-out on defense, then went hurry-up for a nine-play, 60-yard scoring drive. Vance had a 12-yard scamper and a 16-yard pass to Ponce on yet another third-down conversion to the PRC 1, and Vance scored on the next play.
In all, Hattiesburg was 5 for 5 on third down in the first half. Vance finished the night with 10 completions in 16 attempts for 142 yards, with six balls going to Keys for 94 yards.
“That’s the money down,” said Deuce Vance. “That’s our biggest down. We know we have to convert on third down and stay on the field.”
The second half was played with a running clock, but the Hattiesburg junior varsity managed a moment in the spotlight on Senior Night, as sophomore quarterback Shawn Armstrong engineered a four-play, 63-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
Junior Joel Burnside had a 13-yard run, Armstrong had keepers of 8 and 13 yards, then got the touchdown on a 29-yard pass to sophomore J.B. Bryant.
“We do what we’re supposed to do,” said Smith. “We handle our business in the weight room and we handle our business on the practice field, so when we come out here on Friday night, we expect to win.”
For Hattiesburg, just making the playoffs isn’t enough. Now the goal is to secure home-field advantage with a win next week at Terry, then a region championship the following week at West Jones.
“Obviously, the goal now is to go win a championship,” said Vance. “So, worst-case scenario, we finish no worse than third. Now, it’s playing for home-field advantage over the next two weeks.
“We really need our fans to come out and support us on the road next week, and bring some energy with them.”
