Hattiesburg has taken steps toward embarking on what it hopes is similar to its midseason turnaround from last year.
Hattiesburg picked up its first win of the season after going on the road to defeat Natchez 36-6. Not only was it the first win of the season, and it gave the Tigers a win to open region play.
“It’s been a long time coming, it feels like,” Hattiesburg coach Tony Vance said. “We are glad to get a win and, more importantly, a division win, and that puts us right where we want to be one game into division play.”
One key to the win was the return of starting quarterback Deuce Vance, who threw for a touchdown. Deuce’s return to run the offense easily played a more important role for the Tigers.
“(Deuce) started and did a great job running the offense,” Vance said. “It’s been a huge difference having him back out there knowing you have a guy that can make all these checks at the line of scrimmage and make sure everybody is in the right place. I thought he played well. There were a lot of things he did that didn’t show up in the stat column. I thought he brought just a level of familiarity to the position.
“He adds another dimension for us. On offense, it allows us to use some other guys in a different role and in some different positions to help us get back to who we really want to be on offense.”
Last season, the Tigers battled back from an 0-4 start and won five of its next six games to secure a playoff spot. However, unlike like last year, the road to completing that accomplishment is more difficult due to the region being much tougher.
“Last year is last year,” Vance said. “It’s a whole different team and different players. But we have been here before. A lot of our players were on last year’s team. You have to go out and fight each week like heck to get a win. I think our players understand that they all count, but these are the ones that matter when it comes to making the playoffs.”
For example, after last year’s win over Natchez, Hattiesburg had a favorable stretch of games against South Jones, Florence and Brookhaven, who at the time held a combined record of 4-8, whereas this year, that group is 6-6. Vance was quick to point out that the region has all-around improved.
“It’s tougher this year,” Vance said. “You take a team like Florence that’s sitting at 5-0. Last year that wasn’t the case. Wayne County is better. West Jones is West Jones and South Jones is better. Natchez is good enough to beat anybody on any given Friday. Those are three teams that weren’t even in the playoffs last year, and now all of sudden they have a chance this year.”
Trying to extend the win streak against South Jones won’t be an easy task, with Braves coach Todd Breland and Vance having battled 12 times dating back to 2013.
“They are a little bit different on offense this year,” Vance said. “They are your typical Todd Breland spread it around the team. They do some things that are similar to us on offense to take advantage of their skill set. They play hard. They hustle. They run to the ball. They are going to be where they are supposed to be. That’s the sign of a well-coached team.”
Hattiesburg will host South Jones Friday at D.I. Patrick Stadium, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.
