Drew Causey tried to limit the scoreboard-watching, and get his team to focus on the task at hand, a decisive contest against Pearl to end the regular season.
And his Oak Grove team did precisely as their coach asked, taking care of business in workmanlike fashion, building a quick 14-0 lead and cruising to a 28-7 victory over the Pirates Thursday night at Warrior Field.
The victory, coupled with Petal’s 34-28 loss at home to Northwest Rankin, gave the Warriors (8-3 overall) the outright Region 3-7A championship at 4-1 in region play. Oak Grove will host Biloxi in the opening round of the Class 7A playoffs next Friday.
The loss knocked Pearl (3-7, 2-3) into the fifth spot in the region and out of the playoffs.
“Yeah, I mean, we had to win this game to have a home game next week,” said Oak Grove coach Drew Causey. “That’s the only thing that mattered to us. We know we’re playing here next week.”
The Warriors answered the opening bell in splendid fashion, taking the football after winning the pregame coin toss and driving almost effortlessly 52 yards on just four plays to take a lead they would never relinquish.
After junior Micah Caraway took the opening kickoff to the Warrior 48-yard line, junior tailback Roman Causey swept around right end for 18 yards to the Pearl 34 on the first play from scrimmage.
Oak Grove overcame penalties on back-to-back snaps, as junior quarterback Kellen Hall found senior Deavious Weary open on a go route down the right side for a 34-yard touchdown pass.
“We came out pretty good,” said Hall. “Coaches had a lot of good play calls, and it was really connecting. We were all on the same task, and our chemistry was really working good.”
Pearl pounced on an onside kick attempt near midfield and converted a third-and-11 with a 14-yard pass from senior quarterback Jack Durr to junior Peyton Parks for a first down at the Oak Grove 25.
But Durr lost a yard on a keeper, misfired on consecutive plays, and the Pirates lost a fumble on a fourth-down run. It was the first of three fourth-down stops in Warrior territory.
“It really comes down to discipline,” said senior linebacker Mac McDaniel. “How we line up, and how we react.”
Taking over at the Warrior 28, Hall completed passes of 7 yards to senior Jared Milsap, then converted one third down with a 14-yard pass to junior K.J. Roberts, then turned another third down into a 24-yard pass to Caraway, plus 10 yards added for a personal foul.
On the next play, senior Chavel Williams burst off left guard for a 10-yard touchdown run and a 14-0 Oak Grove lead.
“They’re a heavy run team, and there was a lot of discussion about physicality this week,” said Causey. “So we wanted to come out offensively and establish some things.
“We came out and scored (on the first drive), tried to get an onside kick, but got the ball back and scored again, and we kind of held on from there. Had a lot of penalties that hasn’t been our norm all season. So we’ll have to clean that up a bit.”
Hall completed his first seven passes, and used six different receivers in completing 16 of 24 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown. Most of that came in the first half, when Hall was good on 13 of 20 for 156 yards.
“I just throw it to the open person,” Hall said.
Following an exchange of punts, Pearl was once again on the move, driving briskly from the Pirate 20 to midfield with back-to-back first downs. Parks picked up 19 yards, then junior Derrick Alexander ran over left tackle for 10 more yards.
But on third-and-8, Durr’s pass to senior Jalein Fields picked up 12 yards on an up-and-in route, but after taking two steps, McDaniel stripped the ball and pounced on the fumble at the Oak Grove 34.
“That’s a lot of momentum right there, especially early in the game like that,” said McDaniel. “It was big to give the ball back to our offense. You know you’ve got to face adversity. Things are going to happen like that, so it’s just in how you respond.”
Oak Grove had a chance to pad its lead late in the second quarter, driving as far as the Pirate 18 in the final minute of the half.
But a holding call cost the Warriors 10 yards, and Hall’s pass on third-and-long was no good. Junior kicker Cooper Miller’s field goal attempt from 45 yards out came up short and the Warriors took a 14-0 lead into halftime.
Those points would have come in handy, after Pearl shocked everyone when Parks took a handoff up the middle, shed a would-be tackler and dashed 66 yard for a touchdown on the first play after the kickoff to open the second half.
With momentum swinging toward the Pirates, the Warriors showed their mettle – and their toughness – with a six-play, 56-yard scoring drive.
Hall threw for 5 yards to Williams on the first play of the drive, then turned the game over to his running backs, especially Causey, who finished with 95 yards on 14 carries.
“They hit us in the mouth right there,” Causey said. “We misaligned, and they popped one on us, but I’d say we drove right back down there and hit them in the mouth too.”
In all, Oak Grove ran just 20 times, but for 173 yards, an 8.65-yard average. Williams added 57 yards on seven rushes.
“We started running the ball a lot more,” Hall said. “There were just more openings in the running game. There were passes there, but the run just kept on working, so we stuck with it. Big shout-out to the o-line.”
After another fourth-down stop in Warrior territory, Pearl got the ball back at its own 30, and ate up almost eight minutes off the clock, converting a third and a fourth down to get down to the Warrior 16.
But a false start and a holding call cost the Pirates 15 yards and Durr’s passes on third and fourth down were nowhere close.
Pearl got a three-and-out, but Miller’s 50-yard punt was downed at the 13-yard-line, and the Pirates were forced to go for a fourth-and-10 deep in their own territory and came up short.
On the first play after the turnover on downs, Williams put a capper on the night with a 20-yard touchdown run.
“First round playoffs, we need a packed house, and we need them loud to make it tough for whoever comes in here,” said Causey. “Right now, we’re just worried about going 1-0 next week.”
