When it comes to rival games, you can throw out the records and any postseason considerations.
Oak Grove knew coming into the final week of the regular season that it was going to be the No. 2 seed from Region 3-7A, but that didn’t stop the Warriors from rolling over Petal 48-21 Thursday night at Warrior Field.
OG heads into the inaugural Class 7A playoffs at 9-1 overall, 4-1 in region, and will host Biloxi next week in the opening round of the playoffs. Petal, which needed a win and some help to get into the playoffs, finished its season 4-6 and 1-4.
“There’s not a whole lot of motivation needed when you’re playing those guys,” said Oak Grove coach Drew Causey. “Rival game, and a lot of things were said between the two student bodies, and it kind of got our guys fired up.”
As befit a heated local rivalry, the Panthers came out looking like they might make it a game.
Warrior senior Tajii Burkett took the opening kickoff of the game 40 yards to the Petal 40-yard-line, and Oak Grove quickly moved to a first-and-goal on a 14-yard pass from senior A.J. Maddox to senior Nehemiah Taylor and an 18-yard run by Burkett.
But a false start moved the ball back 5 yards, and the Panther held on third down, forcing Oak Grove to settle for a 20-yard Luke Stewart field goal.
Buoyed by the defensive stop, Petal took the ensuing kickoff 80 yards on seven plays for a touchdown. The big play was a 39-yard strike from sophomore quarterback Eli Causey to junior Cory Jackson to the Warrior 3, and freshman Chavez Walker scored on the next play.
“We knew what we were getting defensive with Oak Grove,” said Petal coach Allen Glenn. “We had some man matchups that we were able to hit them on. Eli made some good plays, we blocked them up front pretty good and had some success.”
But the 7-3 lead didn’t last long. Oak Grove took the ensuing kickoff 66 yards in nine plays to take the lead for good.
Maddox hooked up with senior P.J. Woodland for a 39-yard catch-and-run to get the Warriors in position, and sophomore Martez Blackwell scored on a 6-yrd run after Oak Grove converted a fourth down from the Panther 7.
And it was a different Warrior defense that took the field when Petal got the ball back at their own 20. After surrendering a first down, the Warriors forced a punt, and the Oak Grove offense never looked back.
“They came out with a couple of big plays,” said senior Chase Pinkston. “Hut after they scored, we went into the tent, got everything together, and made sure that didn’t happen again. We had a safety over the top to defend the deep ball to keep them from getting behind us.”
After getting the ball back, Maddox and Woodland combined again on bubble screen that Woodland took to the house for a 47-yard scoring play. Woodland finished the night with six catches for 131 yards.
“We come out and fight during the week, but when we come out here Friday night, it’s all about the W,” said Woodland. “We don’t care about who scores, we just want to get the win. A.J.’s in the film room all the time, and he knows what to do.”
The star of the game for Oak Grove was Maddox, who completed 20 of 32 passes for 336 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran eight times for 56 yards, mostly on the read option.
“They were playing a lot of seep cover, cover four, and we’ve been throwing the ball over the top a lot, over the safeties,” said Maddox. “So we wanted to hit things underneath, and let our guys make plays. Coach had a great game plan dialed up and we executed it.”
After a three-and-out, Maddox went right back to work. Blackwell opened the drive with runs of 9 and 15 yards, the Maddox motored 23 yards to the Panther 24.
On second-and-9, Maddox found senior Damari Jefferson with single coverage on the right side, and Jefferson raced past the defense for a 23-yard touchdown and a 24-7 lead.
“(Maddox) played well tonight,” said Causey. “I thought he did a lot of great things.
“He missed maybe three deep shots that he normally connects on, but a lot of teams are bailing on us and giving us the short stuff, and we’ve got guys who can take it 70 or 80 yards catching a 2-yard pass.”
Oak Grove’s best drive of the game only resulted in a field goal, but it took a lot of the fight out of the Panthers, coming at the end of the half.
Starting at their own 9-yard line with 2:44 to play in the first half and only one time out, Oak Grove drove 89 yards on 13 plays to set Stewart up for a chip-shot 19-yard field goal as time expired in the half.
Stewart, who committed to Southern Miss on Thursday, was a weapon for the Warriors, easily converting all of his PATs, both field goal attempts, and he drove six of his seven kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.
Oak Grove took advantage of two Petal turnovers in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
A fumble on the Panthers’ second play after the kickoff to open the second half, set the Warriors up at the Petal 34, and they needed just five plays to cover the distance, with junior Jamar Pittman scoring on a 6-yard run.
Petal answered with a scoring drive, with Causey hooking up with Jackson on fourth down for a 42-yard touchdown pass.
Jackson was a bright spot for the Panthers, with six catches for 117 yards, and Causey was effective at times, completing 8 of 20 passes for 192 yards, with one costly interception.
“A sophomore in this league, it’s tough at times,” said Glenn. “I thought he grew up through the year. He’s got a bright, bright future. He’s very cerebral, very smart kid and a really good athlete. So we’re really excited about the future for him.”
The interception came after Oak Grove senior Jordan Milsap caught an onside kick and carried it to the Panther 35. On the first play, Maddox connected with Burkett for a 31-yard play, and it was Burkett who scored on a 2-yard run.
Petal got a big play on its ensuing possession as senior tight end Britt Stringer took a swing pass to the left side, fought off a would-be tackler and dashed down the sideline for a 67-yard play before Pinkston ran him down at the Warrior 12.
And it was Pinkston who stepped in front of a pass at the 7-yard-line and carried the pick 45 yards to the Panther 48.
“I ran 60 yards down the field, then I got back out there and ended up making a pick and running another 40 yards,” said Pinkston. “So I was just gassed. I read his eyes and made a play on the ball.”
On the first play, Maddox threw incomplete, but a holding call, then an unsportsmanlike conduct call moved the Warriors back 25 yards to a first-and-35 at their own 27.
That down and distance fazed Oak Grove not at all. Jefferson took a short pass over the middle and dashed 40 yards to the Petal 33, then Maddox and Taylor completed their night’s work with a 33-yard touchdown pass on the next play.
“Everybody understands that there’s just one football,” said Maddox. “They just want to see everybody be happy. Everyone’s happy to see the other guys catch the ball, and I’m happy to spread the ball around.
“I’m so appreciative of those guys, and they just want to win at the end of the day and get the job done.”
Petal didn’t quit, and drove 80 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown.
Junior Kentrell Mickell had runs of 8, 10 and 25 yards, freshman Chavez Walker converted a third down with a 10-yard run, then Causey and Jackson hooked for another third-down conversion on a 16-yard pass play to the Warrior 2. Causey got the score from there.
“Kudos to our kids,” Glenn said. “That’s our culture, to never quit, never say die no matter who we play. We’re going to play all four quarters until that clock hits zero, and our kids did that.”
Oak Grove took the final possession of the game to run the final 7:17 off the clock with its second-team offense. The Warriors amassed 528 yards of offense, including 182 on the ground, all without leading rusher Kylin Champagne, who sat out with a minor injury.
“We held Champagne out this week, because we felt that was the best thing for us to get him ready for the playoffs,” said Causey. “You add him to the mix, and if we play like we’re capable of playing, we’re tough to beat.”
If there was a negative for Oak Grove, it was penalties. The Warriors were flagged 15 times for 125 yards.
Afterwards, Causey told the Warriors it’s now a four-week season to get them where they want to be, in Oxford playing for a state championship. First up is Biloxi, which finished the regular season 6-5.
“We’ve got four weeks,” said Causey. “I don’t care who we play. We need to be ready to come to practice on Monday ready to go to work, so we can go win a state championship.”
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