Special teams are an all-important third leg of the football tripod, and that was big for Hattiesburg in its non-region finale.
The Tigers scored 16 points on three special teams plays in a three-and-a-half minute span of the first quarter on their way to a 48-21 victory over George County Friday night at D.I. Patrick Stadium.
Hattiesburg heads into Region 3-6A play 6-0, with a bye coming up next week. The Rebels dropped to 3-3 overall, as they start Region 4-6A action.
“Coach (Marcus) Thornton does a great job with our special teams,” said Hattiesburg coach Tony Vance. “Those guys buy into the importance of special teams. Getting 16 points on special teams really set the tone early for us.
“Even late, we were able to get some things done on special teams. So kudos to those guys. They did a great job out there tonight.”
George County played without star quarterback Deuce Knight, who suffered a pulled hamstring Sept. 13 against Biloxi.
Rebel coach James Ray said he chose to keep the 6-foot-5 senior out of action for a third consecutive game. A wet field after steady rains all afternoon Friday made the decision easy.
“A wet field like this, we didn’t want to take a chance on him slipping and reinjuring that leg,” Ray said. “This game doesn’t mean anything. I mean, we want to win, right? But we’ve got region starting next week, and I didn’t want to take a chance with him.”
Sophomore Wyatt Spidahl got the start for the Rebels and showed he might just become Knight’s heir apparent after a solid effort against one best defenses in the state. Spidahl completed 10 of 16 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns.
“Wyatt’s going to be a great player,” said Ray. “He’s just a sophomore, but he showed a lot of poise out there.”
The Rebels served notice early that they weren’t just going to go through the motions. After stopping the Tigers on a three-and-out, Spidahl’s first pass of the game, on third-and-9 went for a 79-yard scoring play to junior Derrick McNair.
“It was a little shock to us,” said senior defensive end Kaden Smith. “We come out every week prepared to put a zero up on the scoreboard. We’re not hoping to hold them to 21, we come in wanting to hold them to zero. That’s what we game-plan for.
“So it kind of woke us up a little bit and got the defense going.”
Hattiesburg answered right back with a seven-ply, 69-yard drives, the final 34 yards coming on a pass from senior Deuce Vance to junior Tristan Keys for a 7-7 tie.
“It was in the game plan,” said Keys. “We knew we had man coverage on that side; the coaches put in the right play and chose me to execute it and get the momentum back for us.”
And that’s the moment the Tigers turned up the heat on special teams.
On the ensuing kickoff, McNair was stripped of the ball, senior Mckii Rogers scooped up the fumble at the 23-yard line and dashed untouched to the end zone for a touchdown that put the Tigers ahead for good.
Indeed, the Rebels were plagued by turnovers, as exactly half of the Tigers’ points came off turnovers.
The next one also resulted in points for Hattiesburg. George County got the ball in good field position after an odd kickoff that went out of bounds at the Tiger 28.
Three plays resulted in 6 yards, and a 39-yard field goal attempt was blocked, with junior Anthony Ponce picking up the block and racing 65 yards for a score. A bad snap prevented a PAT kick, but just like that, Hattiesburg had a 20-7 lead.
And that lead grew on the next possession, when a high snap on a fourth-down punt attempt rolled through the end zone for a safety.
“I was just proud of the effort the guys gave out there today,” said Vance. “It wasn’t a perfect game, by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a game we needed against a quality opponent.
“We kept the main thing the main thing, which was to get the victory. All the credit goes to our payers. Great job tonight.”
The Tigers used almost five minutes off the clock after the free kick, but the Rebels got a fourth-down stop at the GCHS 22.
George County narrowed the margin late in the second quarter on a 34-yard pass from Spidahl to senior Brenn Moody.
The Tigers again answered the call with a brisk four-play, 55-yard drive, with Vance connecting with senior Tyree Barnett for a 32-yard touchdown pass to give Hattiesburg a 28-14 halftime lead.
Getting the ball to start the second half, the Rebels embarked on their best drive of the game, a 68-yard march that used eight plays, the score coming on a 34-yard pass from Spidahl to McNair.
“We came prepared to stop whoever was at quarterback,” said Smith. “We had a game plan for Deuce and we had a game plan for their subs. We knew coming in that there was the possibility (Knight) might not play, so we came prepared for both of them.”
McNair had a big night for George County, with four catches for 121 yards and two scores.
George County was still in the game, and driving for a potential tying score heading into the fourth quarter, when the turnover bug bit the Rebels one last time.
Facing a third-and-5 at the Hattiesburg 43, Spidahl fumbled a low snap, Smith picked up the loose ball at midfield and rumbled to the Rebel 4-yard-line before being tackled.
It took three plays, but the Tigers got the ball in the end zone on a 5-yard pass from Vance to Keys. The 6-foot-3 Keys finished with four receptions for 114 yards and three touchdowns, and he carried a fake punt for a 33-yard run.
“We made a good stop up front,” said Smith. “They bobbled the snap, and we got back there and got on it. I picked it up and got a good return on it. We knew coming out of halftime that we had to make a stop. That right there really flipped the switch for us.”
A big key was the ability of the Tigers to stop the Rebels on the ground. George County, the netted just 15 yards on the ground in 36 attempts, although that total included the 32-yard loss on the safety.
“I thought we did a great job running to the football and making tackles,” said Vance. “Our defense did a great job stopping their running game. Awesome job adjusting and doing what they needed to do.”
Hattiesburg tacked on two more touchdowns in the final period, on a 65-yard touchdown pass from Vance to Keys, and a 9-yard run by junior Joel Burnside.
“We’ve got some playmakers, and the coaches trust us,” said Keys. “When things aren’t going the right way, we can turn it up a notch as a team and play some ball.”
Afterward, Vance gave his team the weekend off, with the Tigers returning to practice on Tuesday in advance of their bye week. HHS opens region play Oct. 18 at home against Forest Hill.
“We’ve got to get some guys healthy, so this comes at a good time for us,” said Vance. “Hopefully, we can get some guys healed up and be full speed for Forest Hill.
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