The Hattiesburg Tigers are making it look easy so far this season. Even with every other 5A team, and most teams in the state, looking up at them, the Tigers are handling their opponents.
On the heels of a 56-14 win over Stone last week, Hattiesburg has won its last five games by at least 20 points. The only team to come within two possession of Hattiesburg was Petal in the season-opener. Even then, Hattiesburg controlled that game.
It’s been more than a year since the Tigers (6-0, 2-0 in Region 4-6A) have become a dominant force, and even though the stinging loss of last season’s state championship still looms, complacency has to settle eventually, right? Not for Tony Vance’s bunch.
“I think they do a good job of staying locked in,” Vance said of his players in practice. “It’s something we constantly have to harp on and just making sure they know the importance of staying focused each week. We have the target on our back and its just part of it.”
Vance and the Tigers know they’re going to get an opponent’s best shot every week, but it hasn’t stopped them from winning big nearly every week. Despite the 42-point win last week, Vance said he saw some things he wanted cleaned up.
“Just fundamentals and small things we’re doing,” he said. “I told the players (Monday) that there’s nothing big we need to work on. Obviously, we’re doing a lot of things right, but there are some little things we’re not doing right. Those are the things we have to work on.”
Next up on the schedule is Pearl River Central, as the Tigers return home for the first game at D.I. Patrick Stadium since late August. With five games left on the schedule, Hattiesburg will play four of those at home while traveling to Long Beach in the second-to-last game of the season.
The Blue Devils (2-4, 1-1) like to run the ball. They’ve recorded 300 rushing attempts compared to 49 passes this season, and they average more than 300 rushing yards per game. PRC has two running backs with more than 500 yards on the ground, as Kobe Whitehead leads the way with 781 yards and 11 touchdowns on 125 carries while Detrich Spikes has recorded 558 yards and six scores on 66 attempts.
Friday’s game with Pearl River Central will give the Tigers a little preview of what they might see from another region foe, too.
“They’re definitely going to run the football,” Vance said. “That’s who they are and that’s what they do. They’re a really good version of what we’ll see with Picayune, because they’re really similar on offense with what they do.”
Defensively, PRC has played a similar style as the last two teams Hattiesburg played. The Blue Devils will bring pressure in an attempt to stop the run and force Hattiesburg to throw the ball.
Even though the last two games were big wins that didn’t require a lot of passing attempts, Hattiesburg has 323 passing yards and four touchdowns the last two weeks. Rushing the ball, it had a 457-yard performance last week against Stone.
“I think our guys have seen it enough now,” Vance said. “Of course, I’m sure they’ll have twists that we’ll have to be prepared for, but it definitely helps to know that’s what we’re going to see. At least that’s what they’ve shown. They may come in Friday in something totally different, and that’s something we’ll have to adjust to.”
