Despite Picayune being led by first-year coach Cody Stogner, Hattiesburg finds itself facing a typical Maroon Tide team.
The fourth-ranked Maroon Tide is undefeated on the year and comes off a 47-43 win over Gautier. Hattiesburg, however, suffered a 44-20 loss to Pascagoula last week.
“They don’t have many changes with them except for a new head coach,” Hattiesburg coach Tony Vance said. “They are still doing the same things offensively. Defensively they are still really good at what they do. They are going to be a typical Picayune team. There is not going to be a big drop off and it’s not a team that we won’t recognize. They are the same Picayune team doing the same things.”
Picayune, which runs its signature Wing-T, has averaged 375 offensive yards per game with 288 of those yards coming from its run game. The Maroon Tide have five different players that have at least recorded 100 rushing yards. The two main ball carriers have been Austin Samples, who has rushed for 516 yards and six touchdowns, and Dorian Robinson, who has posted 296 yards and four touchdowns.
The most distinct difference this year, according to Vance, is how much more Picayune has thrown the ball this season. At quarterback is Isaac Hickman, who has passed for 20-of-33 and thrown for 436 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while also recording four rushing touchdowns.
“The quarterback is probably throwing it more this year than they have in the past,” Vance said. “He is pretty accurate throwing the fade ball and the slant route. That’s probably his two favorite pass plays. He is pretty accurate. They have some good wideouts, but we understand they aren’t going to throw it a whole lot. When they do throw it, they are trying to make a play.”
Defensively, Picayune runs a 4-front defensive scheme. On the season, the Maroon Tide has given up an average of 25 points per game. As a team, Picayune has forced eight turnovers, six of which were fumbles, eight sacks and 25 tackles for loss.
“They are a 4-2 team,” Vance said. “Their front seven guys really stand out. The ones that stand out are the linebackers, which are really aggressive and physical and play extremely hard. They tackle, really. The secondary plays a lot of zone coverage. They give up the short stuff underneath and make you line up and run the play again.”
For Vance, the main concentration heading into this week is learning from the team’s loss to Pascagoula and trying to stay healthy.
“You go in and build off from what you did good and then go from there,” Vance said. “It’s all we have to do. Hopefully, we get some guys back healthy and be better. That’s the nature of the beast this time of year is staying healthy.”
