FLOWOOD — It came down to the last second, but Oak Grove clinched a playoff spot.
Cooper Miller drilled a 20-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Warriors over Northwest Rankin 37-34 in a pivotal Region 3-7A contest Friday night at Cougar Stadium.
If the Warriors (7-3, 3-1 Region 3-7A) beat Pearl next week, they will clinch a home playoff game in the Class 7A playoffs.
“I did not want to give them the football back, so we were going to run the clock down as far as possible and go to overtime or go down and kick a field goal,” said Oak Grove coach Drew Causey. “I told our guys all week this was a playoff game, and it lived up to the hype. Glad Cooper did his job, made the field goal, and got us a huge road win.”
After Miller hit a 21-yard field goal with 5:35 left in the fourth quarter to give Oak Grove a 34-28 lead, Gavin Phillipson hit Jermany Hayden on a 62-yard touchdown pass. But the extra point was missed, leaving the game tied 34-34 with 5:18 left in regulation.
Oak Grove got the ball with 5:08 remaining and drove 68 yards in 14 plays, converting two fourth downs to set up Miller’s game-winning 20-yard field goal.
“It was a short field goal, so I just had to do my job, make the kick and win the game — and that’s what I did,” Miller said. “Now that we’re in the playoffs, I think we can go pretty far.”
Oak Grove rushed for 261 yards as a team. Chavel Williams led with 152 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown, while Roman Causey added 111 yards on 22 carries along with four catches for 26 yards and two touchdowns.
“Me and Chavel are like a one-two punch, and you can definitely tell that we feed off each other and pick each other up,” Causey said. “On the last drive we were telling each other to hold onto the ball, get positive yards, and make plays when we needed to win the game.”
Kellen Hall finished 13-of-17 passing for 123 yards and two touchdowns for the Warriors.
“That was two really good offenses clicking tonight,” Coach Causey said. “Our plan was to come in and run the football, and I feel like we did that really well. It’s a very tough region, and now we have to beat Pearl to clinch a home playoff game — and that’s what you play for.”
Hayden had 56 rushing yards with four touchdowns and a receiving touchdown to lead Northwest Rankin (5-4, 2-2).
