Purvis continues to keep up its winning ways with its historical start to the year.
However, for Purvis coach Brad Hankins, while the 4-0 start has been great, the start of region play is a signal for his team to become more serious.
“I thought we played hard last week,” Hankins said. “We weren’t exactly where we were supposed to be sometimes, and we didn’t exactly block who we were supposed to block, but I thought our effort was real good.
“You want to take all of those experiences of playing in four ball games that get you ready for district play. It’s really a new season right now. You are going in to play for extra football now.”
The Tornados will open region play against Stone (1-2), which comes off a 56-50 shootout loss to Moss Point.
“They are athletic,” Hankins said. “If their tailback gets going well, it’s pretty to watch if you are not coaching against him, but it’s a headache if you are coaching against him. He is special. He is super special.”
Stone’s offense has had its share of highs and lows, but the consistent force behind their offense is running back Carlos Brown, who has already compiled 616 yards and seven touchdowns.
“(Brown) is the main piece right now,” Hankins said. “We have got to stop him, and I don’t know if you do stop him. You have to slow him down because he is a physical runner between the tackles, but when he gets in the open space, he can really run. He can take it to the house.
“We dealt with that last year against him, and now it looks like he is stronger and bigger and more physical.”
Also, an equal threat is Stone’s quarterback Triston Hickman, who is a dual-threat quarterback. Hickman has thrown for 193 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 125 yards and three touchdowns.
“They are going to be a shotgun with a blocking back in there,” Hankins said. “They’ll give you some power, counter, some quarterback run, and when the quarterback does throw it, he throws it real well. This is going to be one of the best tests we have had so far, without a doubt.”
On defense, Stone likes to create pressure, and on the season, they have totaled 11 tackles for loss, five sacks and forced four turnovers.
“They are going to create pressure in a lot of spaces,” Hankins said. “They have some good cover guys, but secondary-wise I say they can run and they can get you. It’s going to be a test, and we are going to have to sustain blocks to help us win.”
