Looking back at last week’s tape, Hattiesburg coach Tony Vance felt the same way after the Tigers’ loss to Petal – the defense played well, and the offense has a lot of work to do.
“It’s the same thing from Friday night, too many turnovers, too many penalties, and not enough offensive production,” Vance said. “The defense I thought played dog gone good all night other than some plays here and there. Other than that, the defense played really well. They were the bright spot.”
One of the positives of Hattiesburg’s offense was sophomore Tavares Wade, who racked up over 100 all-purpose yards.
“(Wade) is a guy that we are going to try and get the ball to in multiple ways,” Vance said. “That won’t change. We’ll still use him a lot like we did last week. He’ll have carries and do some things at quarterback and some other things as well. We have to find ways to get him the football and let him do the things he does.
“I think we saw somethings Friday night that we can build on. I told our players and coaches that it’s never as bad as you think. We were a block away here and there. There was a missed throw here and there. There is a lot to build on. There were a lot of positives but a lot of mistakes to correct. It’s Game 1, so it’s to be expected.”
This week Hattiesburg faces the tall task of going on the road to face Ocean Springs, who opened the year with a 45-44 overtime thriller win against Clinton.
The Tigers will have their work cut out for them as they try to stop the Greyhounds’ starting quarterback Brayson Hubbard. Hubbard was 20-of-28 and threw for 231 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while he rushed for 94 yards and four touchdowns. Hubbard also notably connected with five different receivers in the win, with every receiver coming up with at least two catches.
“They are a spread offense,” Vance said. “They’ll keep it in one form of three or four wide. They’ll spread you out and let the quarterback do what he does. (Hubbard is) a really good player. He may be one of the better quarterbacks that we play for a while. He can throw it and run it. They do a good job of mixing it up with them. He does a good job of doing both for them offensively.
“They also have some receivers that can make some plays. They have some tall, lengthy receivers, and their running back runs hard. Their quarterback makes them go.”
The 44 points Ocean Springs gave up to Clinton was more than in any game they allowed last year, as the Greyhounds defense held teams to an average of 14 points per game.
“They are a stack team and run a 3-man front,” Vance said. “They will mix it up with a 4-man front. They are a team that is going to get after you and move around a lot. They’ll try to confuse you a lot with their schemes. They will be active on defense and are well-coached.
“Their defensive front and linebackers are the strength of their team.”
For Vance, the biggest goal is to simply have his team show signs of improvement and see them grow after the first game of the season.
“We want to see improvement team-wide,” Vance said. “We have to improve in every phase of the game from Week 1 to Week 2. Most coaches and most people say you make the biggest jump from Week 1 to Week 2. We are hoping to make a big jump with our special teams and offense. The key for us is just to stay healthy and get better each and every week.”
