The Battle for Highway 589 is an annual reminder of the lack of love between the Purvis and Sumrall communities.
The two teams have met continuously since 1965, with the first meeting dating back to 1930.
“It excites people when Purvis and Sumrall get together,” Purvis coach Brad Hankins said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, or whatever it is. Both towns are going to support their teams.”
Purvis leads the all-time series 44-14-1, but Sumrall has won the last three meetings.
“It is a huge rival game, but the Purvis crowd has not been good,” Sumrall Coach Shannon White said. “I don’t know if it's because we have been winning some games lately against them or not. You would think they would be there to support their team, especially when they play Sumrall. It’s been sparse crowds in what seems like the past few years.
“Our folks show up, but it doesn’t seem like they have. But it’s a home game for them so maybe they’ll be there this week.”
However, in the upcoming matchup, the Tornadoes (4-2, 1-0) look to be the favorite as they rattled off two straight victories, including a 21-19 win against FCAHS last week.
“It always feels good to get the first division win, that’s for sure,” Hankins said. “We’re playing better and playing with a little bit more fire.
“The effort, intensity and the practice level have changed a little bit, hopefully, all that stuff is what is carrying over on Friday night.”
Purvis continues to roll with running back Moses Cummings, who has now run for 1,109 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. Aiding Cummings’ success is Purvis’ passing game, which can’t be ignored with quarterback Jojo Parker. Parker has tossed for 518 yards and five touchdowns this season.
“I think their offense is what we hope to be,” White said. “Their passing game and formations keep you off balance, and then there is Moses back there, who you have to account for on every play. It’s a deal where you can’t focus on him, or they burn you in the passing game. They are a better team this year.
“It’s a great rivalry. No matter what sport is playing against Purvis, it’s a big game.”
As for Sumrall (3-3, 0-1), the Bobcats have struggled in the last few weeks as they have not played up to their potential as they had done earlier in the season. Sumrall has lost three of its last four games, including dropping its region opener to Lawrence County 53-37.
“They are a much-improved team,” White said.” They are really good. Our concern is on us. I think Purvis is feeling good about themselves and have momentum. We don’t. We have not much momentum right now. It’s a gut-check part of the season for us.”
The one silver lining to last week’s loss for Sumrall is that its offense seems to have found its groove. The Bobcats have been without running back Trevor Daniels due to a knee injury and is still ‘day to day.’
“We are going at it like he’s going to play,” Hankins said. “I know Coach White is going to keep things close to the vest like any coach would, but I’ll look at it as if he’s playing. We have to be prepared to make plays against a good running back and a big, strong runner at that.”
But in last week’s loss, Braelyn Harrison rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns.
“It was an improvement on offense, but really, for four straight weeks, we have struggled,” White said. “Braelyn plays receiver, free safety, cornerback, quarterback and running back, apparently. He’s an amazing player. For him to step in there at running back and rush for over 100 yards is impressive. I thought we blocked well.
“Our offense is only going to be good when we run the football well. We would love a balanced offense, and it seems like when we were at our best, we were.”
The success in Sumrall’s run game opened things for quarterback Landon Hawkins, who threw for 370 yards and two touchdowns last week.
“We want to run it to set up the pass and be able to throw it when we have to,” Hankins said.
“I’d rather run the football and run the clock and shrink the game as much as we can. Coach White will sling it around a little bit, and he has the guys to do it with for sure.
“We have to prepare for a four-quarter fistfight.”
Purvis will host the Bobcats on Friday, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
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