Purvis dropped its first game of the season in a close 21-14 loss to Pass Christian.
“We have got to get a lot better,” Purvis coach Brad Hankins said. “To me, that’s the big thing. We have got to grow up, and some of these young kids are going to have to help us. After those first couple of games under your belt, you aren’t necessarily a freshman. You have been a bit in the fire and a bit in the grease.”
Despite the loss, the Tornados (2-1) saw a third straight 100-yard performance from running back Moses Cummings, who ran for 124 yards on 29 carries.
“From (Cummings’) work ethic in the weight room to the way he practices every day, the best thing as a coach is probably to see him have that success,” Hankins said. “You know what hard work has gone into what he has put into it. That dude works his tail off in the weight room and at practice. He is our guy. If we get the chance to hand it to him, then we are going to hand it to him. The good thing about him is that when sometimes there aren’t things there, he turns into something for sure.”
This week Purvis will try to bounce back against Bay (2-1). After opening the season with a loss, the Tigers have won two straight and most recently comes off a 42-21 win against Long Beach.
On offense, Bay uses two quarterbacks as they swap between Alex Bellew and Xander Lander, who have combined for 166 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. The ground game is led by running back Jaylen Antoine, who has rushed for 203 yards and two touchdowns and has two receiving touchdowns. Yet what stands out to Hankins is the size of Bay’s linemen.
“They are huge,” Hankins said. “They are real athletic defensively. They are going to bring a lot of pressure from different places. Offensively, they are going to try to play smash-mouth football for two or three plays, then spread you out. We have got to be prepared for everything and be very gap sound. They have a good club.
“They have got some athletes on defense and are fast. That’s kind of the scary thing for us. It could possibly be a nightmare matchup with those guys. The linebackers are real good, and they attack the line of scrimmage. They do a good job of disguising some of their pressures. We got our work cut out for us this week.”
Purvis hosts Bay on Friday, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.
