Oak Grove football has undoubtedly shaken up the landscape of the Mississippi football world.
The Warriors knocked off the previously undisputed No. 1 Brandon Bulldogs in a 25-20 win. Although Brandon has the tiebreaker over Oak Grove in the region standings, the outlook for 6A south feels more wide open than ever.
“For us, the last two ball games we have really played the way I thought we could play like,” Oak Grove coach Drew Causey said. “We’re trending in the right direction. Quarterback AJ Maddox is getting better each week, and our offense is getting better each week. Our defensive front is playing like they are capable of playing. That’s been a good thing and a good sign. We have a good shot at making a run.”
The Warriors (7-2, 4-1) are looking to maintain momentum against Pearl (2-7, 1-4) and extend their win streak to five games. The Pirates enter the matchup on a five-game losing streak, but most of their games have been decided by two scores, and in total, four of their losses have been decided by two possessions or loss.
“They’ve been in a lot of ball games,” Causey said. “They’ve had chances to win a bunch of them and have just kind of fallen short. They’re just playing some young guys now. A lot of those younger guys make big mistakes in a big moment. They are definitely better than what the record shows.”
The Pearl offense has averaged 17 points per game, while its defense is allowing 30 points per game. The heartbeat of Pearl’s team is freshman quarterback Jack Durr has thrown for 1,507 yards, 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while rushing for 344 yards and four touchdowns.
“They really want to base out of a 10 personnel for wide receivers,” Causey said. “They’ll play with an H-back for a good bit. It’s not a whole lot of big sets. It’s more H-back with three wide receivers. For a freshman quarterback, he’s a tough kid. He tucks the ball and runs it when he’s supposed to. We definitely have got to corral him and make sure he doesn’t get loose. He can get loose pretty easily. They’ve got some talented players on that side of the ball. We’ll have to play well.
“On defense, they are multiple. It seems like they are going to base out of a 3-4. They’ll bump over and give you a four-down look. They get into a lot of zone coverage on the back end. There will be some opportunities for us that our kids will have to take advantage of and try and make plays when they are supposed to make plays.”
Oak Grove hosts Pearl on Friday, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
