There’s no shortage of storylines and connections for Hattiesburg, which is set to play for a state championship in the confides of its hometown at Southern Miss.
The Tigers will drive from D.I. Patrick Stadium to M.M. Roberts Stadium, which is just five minutes down the road.
“It means a lot regardless (to win a state title) of where it was,” Hattiesburg coach Tony Vance said. “To be right here in Hattiesburg, for our fan base not to drive three or four hours to celebrate after the win or be able to enjoy watching the state championship. Hattiesburg has a rich tradition, and a lot of fans aren’t able to travel like they used to and love the opportunity to see us play. It’s a special time and a special moment for our players. Our players’ families. We are looking forward to that part of it.”
ONE HUNDRED YEARS
To raise the drama for Hattiesburg’s championship season, the Tigers (13-0) are seeking its first perfection in 100 years.
Back in 1924, the Tigers went 11-0, outscoring its opponents 268-54 that year, and was named state champion after a 20-14 win over Louisville. The two schools were undefeated at the time and arranged to play a state championship game to decide who was the best.
Notably, the Tigers won the Big 8 Conference, which was formed in 1926, in 1933, 1934, 1935 and 1952. Those teams commonly referred to themselves as state champions since the Big 8 featured the largest schools.
Yet in the modern era, Hattiesburg has never won a state championship. Since 1989, the Tigers have reached the state title game five times and came up short with two of those defeats, spoiling potential perfect seasons in 1998 and 2017.
“For those people who believe in that type of thing, in destiny, and all those things, definitely I think there is some merit to it,” Vance said. “It’s the 100th anniversary since 1924, and here we are in 2024. But the most important thing for these guys is that we have an opportunity to do something that in modern times hasn’t been done.”
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT GRENADA
The Tigers will face Grenada (13-1), which reached the Class 6A state championship last year and fell to West Jones 23-3.
The Chargers drove over three hours to open their season in Hattiesburg as the Chargers lost to Oak Grove 34-28. As fate would have it, it was Grenada’s lone loss of the season. Despite Grenada’s lone failure, Vance doesn’t believe looking back on the film of the game would be helpful.
“I think it’s a totally different team,” Vance said. Of course, it’s the only game they have lost all year, but that was Week 1 and this is Week 15.
“I think not turning the ball over is huge offensively. We just can’t turn it over. We have been really good of taking care of the football this year. We have to be able to execute at a high level. We have to establish our run game, and make sure that we are able to run the football.”
The key piece to Grenada’s team is running back McCaleb Taylor, who has rushed for 2,570 yards and 36 touchdowns.
“He’s definitely one of the best running backs in the state of Mississippi without any shadow of a doubt,” Vance said. “He’s really patient and explosive at the same time. He waits for the holes to develop, and once they do, then it doesn’t take long for him to get through it.
“We have to make sure we know where he is all the time, but you can’t fall asleep on the receivers either. I think priority one is that we have to stop the running game.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the Chargers have three different players with over 100 tackles. The most notable is Jarquez Perry, who has recorded 103 tackles, 25 sacks, 22 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles.
“Defensively, their linebackers are really good,” Vance said. “The defensive front are guys that are going to get after you every play. They have a really good football team, obviously, they wouldn’t be here if they didn’t.”
The championship game is set to kick off at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Follow @PineBeltSPORTS on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
