LAUREL –Very few high school coaches can claim their first career win came in the Little Brown Jug game. Kendall Lacey can.
In his debut season at Hattiesburg, Lacey guided the Tigers to a 31-18 victory over rival Laurel on Friday night at Watkins Stadium, handing him not just his first win but one of the most coveted prizes in Mississippi high school football, the Little Brown Jug.
“I will always remember this game,” Lacey said. “This is my first victory as a head coach. So it doesn’t matter how this ends up, I’ll always remember my first one is here in this game and in this environment,”
Not only did Lacey earn his first win, but the Hattiesburg 2026 class walked off the field one final time with the Little Brown Jug in hand, keeping their perfect record in the rivalry intact with a 31-18 victory over Laurel, winning all four years.
The Tigers leaned on their two-headed rushing attack to wear down the Golden Tornadoes. Running back Bryson Barnes carried 14 times for 127 yards and a touchdown, breaking free late in the first half for a 37-yard score that swung momentum.
Not far behind, Davion Young added 93 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown of his own, plus 32 yards receiving.
The Tigers really started to lean on the run in the second half
Up 10-9 coming out of halftime, Young’s lone touchdown of the night came at the start of the second half, when he broke away for a 52-yard touchdown run giving Hattiesburg a cushion for the rest of the game.
“Coach told us that we have to keep what we were given,” Young said. “We couldn’t give away our lead with stupid plays. He told us to fight to the end because we only had two quarters to go.”
By the end of the night, Hattiesburg had controlled the line of scrimmage enough to keep the clock moving and kept Laurel’s defense searching for answers and opened up a 24-9 lead late in the third quarter.
Davion Young scores a 52-yard touchdown early in the second half (Russ Cloy)
But the Tornados hung around and cut the lead to 24-18 midway through the fourth. Then came the backbreaker.
On the ensuing kickoff, Anthony Ponce fielded the ball at his own seven-yard line and sliced through Laurel’s coverage unit. Ninety-three yards later, he was standing in the end zone with a dagger on the scoreboard.
“I was just trying to make something happen,” Ponce said. “I was really cramping up, but I had to endure,”
The touchdown stretched the lead to two scores with less than six minutes to play, effectively sealing the Tigers’ fourth consecutive win in the rivalry.
For Laurel, the night was one of missed opportunities and mounting frustration. The Golden Tornadoes showed flashes on both sides of the ball but couldn’t sustain enough drives to close the gap.
Head coach Ryan Earnest pointed to penalties and breakdowns at critical moments as the difference. Laurel was flagged 15 times, including one of two ejections in a game that saw tempers flare.
“It was a game of big plays,” Earnest said. “And they just made more big plays than us. We had some opportunities, an inch here, an inch there, but that’s football.”
The penalties weren’t just on Laurel’s side. The two teams combined for 35 penalties—20 on Hattiesburg and 15 on Laurel. Two players, one on each team, were ejected in each half.
“Sometimes emotions can run high in games like these,” Lacey said. “If you don’t handle it early it leads to what happened tonight. We didn’t do it perfect, but we did a good job of holding our emotions to play a good football game,”
For Hattiesburg’s seniors, the Jug isn’t just a trophy — it’s a legacy. Four years, four wins, and no rival could take it from them.
Lacey’s debut will be remembered not just for the number on the scoreboard but for what it represents: a fresh start for the Tigers and a new chapter in one of Mississippi’s oldest rivalries. On a night defined by penalties, big plays, and one game-breaking kickoff return, Hattiesburg didn’t just keep the Jug — it set the tone for where the program hopes to go next.
The Tigers (1-1) are back in action next week against Oak Grove (0-2). Laurel (0-2) will host Gulfport (0-1) next Friday night.
