The Oak Grove Warriors missed a chance last week at potentially putting themselves in the driver’s seat for the region title. After losing to Brandon Friday, Oak Grove hosts the defending 6A State Champions, the Pearl Pirates, for a chance to earn the second seed in the 6A playoffs.
A win Friday and another win against Jim Hill the following week would give the Warriors home field advantage for the first round in two weeks. A loss will lock them into the No. 3 spot in the standings, which means a road trip to the coast will be on the horizon.
The Pirates had to replace a ton of offensive production from last season’s state championship team, but they’ve made the transition seamlessly and are back to being one of the best teams in the state. After suffering two non-region losses to Northwest Rankin and Madison Central, Pearl has won five straight games to start the region schedule.
Just in the last three games, Pearl (7-2, 5-0 in Region 3-6A) has outscored Terry, George County and Jim Hill 128-6. It shut out the Rebels and Tigers the last two games and allowed six points to Terry three weeks ago.
“They have the same exact defense as they played last year,” Oak Grove coach Drew Causey said. “They fly to the ball, they tackle well and they do a good job of getting off blocks. We have to make sure we execute and do what we’ve been practicing all week and all season. We have to come out laser focused and have a great game.”
Defensively, the Pirates have 10 interceptions, nine fumble recoveries, 40 tackles for a loss and 14 sacks.
Not only will Pearl have to deal with dual-threat quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, but junior Nick Milsap has put together a couple of good performances. He rushed for 88 yards and two scores on 10 carries against Terry two weeks ago, then put together a 107-yard performance last week, which was his third 100-yard game of the season. The first two came earlier in the season before hitting a lull for a few weeks, but Causey has seen an improvement in his game.
“Mostly he’s just gotten loose,” Causey said. “He started just being more determined and running harder. With Plumlee back there, a lot of eyes go to him and that allows him to have open spots to run the ball. He does a really good job.”
Pearl features a rushing attack with juniors Kenyatta Harrell and Carleontaye Spires, so Causey knows his team is in for a physical game Friday night.
“They’re a run-oriented football team,” Causey said. “They do what they do and they do a good job doing it. I told our guys that they have to be prepared to get blocked and kicked out over and over. You have to have that mindset that it’s going to be a big-time physical ballgame, so that’s our approach to it right now.”
