In the first two weeks of the season, Oak Grove had been searching for more consistency on offense.
Oak Grove running back JQ Gray delivered just that, which he has done all season, as the Southern Miss commit scored four touchdowns in the Warriors' 42-21 win over crosstown rival Hattiesburg.
"It's just another night," Gray said. "I've got to do what I got to do to win.
"It was a great night overall for the team. It feels good to beat the crosstown rival. Everybody came out and did their part with max effort since the beginning of the game."
Along with his four scores, Gray also put up 115 all-purpose yards, which consisted of three catches for 76 yards and a touchdown, along with 39 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
"I'm glad he plays for us," Oak Grove coach Drew Causey said. "He's really good. He can do a lot of things. We can put him at inside receiver, outside receiver, and running back. He's just a heck of a football player."
However, Hattiesburg (0-3), which was on its fourth quarterback this season, by no means made it easy for Oak Grove as the Tigers kept the game to one score at the half.
"(Hattiesburg) has a good team," Causey said. "I don't care what their record says. When you lose your starting quarterback, your backup quarterback, who is also your starting running back, and then the guy you play (at quarterback) breaks his finger and can't play. Once those guys get healthy, those guys are going to cause some problems in 5A. They have some great athletes. They run well. I thought Tabias Hinton had a heck of a ball game. He showed why he's going to Mississippi State."
The Warriors struck first midway in the first quarter as quarterback AJ Maddox hits Gray for an 18-yard touchdown to go up 7-0.
Oak Grove (3-0) had a chance to build on its lead two drives later but fumbled on the goal line. However, midway through the second quarter, the Warriors struck again. Quarterback Jack Crawford, who came after AJ Maddox lost his helmet on the previous play, hits PJ Woodland for a 46-yard touchdown on 3rd & 15 to push the lead to 14-0.
The Tigers shifted momentum as short field position set up a 27-yard touchdown pass by Malcolm Boykin, who took over quarterback duties, to Lebranden Graham. Hattiesburg then called a fake on the PAT, which Boykin took himself to successfully convert on the 2-point conversion.
Then on the ensuing kickoff, Hattiesburg recovered an onside kick, and two plays later, Boykin scored on a 20-yard run to tie the game at 14-14.
"(Boykin is) a really good football player," Causey said. "For us, that's hard to prepare for because you are dealing with not knowing who is going to play quarterback. You are not sure exactly what they are going to do on offense. We have a lot of stuff to clean up."
But Oak Grove stayed with 1 minute and 20 seconds left in the half as Maddox connected with Damari Jefferson for a 50-yard touchdown. The Tigers almost managed to score again before the half as a 52-yard completion set them up inside Oak Grove's red zone, but Boykin fumbled to end the threat and send the game to the half at 21-14. Maddox finished the game 7-for-18 and threw for 193 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Rain slowed the game down in the third quarter as both sides traded punts, but Oak Grove got on the scoreboard again with 16 seconds left after Gray scored on a 9-yard run to push the lead to 28-14.
Oak Grove's defense intercepted Boykin and returned it to Hattiesburg's 1-yard line, which set up Gray's third touchdown to extend the lead to 35-14 in the fourth quarter. Hattiesburg was not put away yet as Boykin returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to make the game 35-21.
"Untimely penalties and then a real costly turnover on short field (hurt us), but those things happen," Hattiesburg coach Tony Vance said. "We are just trying to get better. I'm so proud of these guys. They gave it their all. They are going to compete every week."
Boykin finished the game 4-for-12 and threw for 118 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while also running for 91 yards on 23 carries.
"We are out of quarterbacks," Vance said. "They say necessity is the mother of invention. We had to get creative and more creative on offense.
"I'm proud of Malcolm Boykin. He was just a playmaker for us, whether it was on offense, defense or the kicking game. He'll sleep well."
Yet, with just under five minutes left in the game, Gray put the nail in the coffin as he scored his final touchdown to help the Warriors pull away. Overall, Causey was pleased with the improvement in his offense, which features eight new starters.
"If we don't fumble at the 1-yard line, that's 49 points," Causey said. "Then we get inside the 20 and don't score, and I contribute that to bad play calling by me, and we don't score, so that's 56 points. If you take away the monsoon we played in the third quarter, I felt like our offense played pretty well for the most part."
"It's just stupid things that we are doing as a young football team. We played better than we did last week, and that's all we are asking them to do to continue to get better each week. When this group starts to click, they are going to be a good football team."
Oak Grove will host John Curtis (La.) on Thursday, while Hattiesburg will stay on the road to face Meridian.
