The road doesn’t get any easier for the Oak Grove Warriors, and a road game at the state’s No. 2 team looms Friday night.
The Pearl Pirates (10-0, 5-0 in Region 3-6A) are ranked the top team in the Associated Press 6A Poll and No. 2 in the Overall Poll behind 5A West Point. Oak Grove (5-4, 2-3) needs a win Friday night to keep its playoff hopes alive, and a loss all but assures a second straight season the Warriors miss playoffs.
“They understand that and they know where we kind of put ourselves, so they showed up (Monday) ready to work, and I think they’ll give it all like we have all year,” Oak Grove coach Drew Causey said. “We’ll give everything we have and we’ll see if we can go up there and do something nobody else has all year.”
Pearl has been dominant from the start of the season until now with no signs of letting up. It began the season with a 23-3 win over Brookhaven, which is 8-1 now, then collected wins over Warren Central Northwest Rankin, Parkway (Bossier City, La.) and Madison Central before running through the region with ease.
The Pirates non-region opponents have a combined record of 32-12, too, so they’re battle-tested, to say the least. Causey said they don’t have a lot of weak spots either.
“They’re very talented,” Causey said. “They just have a really good team all around. There’s not a whole lot to really say. It’s the No. 1 team in the state, they’re undefeated and they’re there for a reason.
Senior quarterback Jake Smithhart has completed 68 percent of his passes for 1,577 yards, 21 touchdowns and five interceptions, and senior J Winston has 609 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 122 carries.
The Oak Grove defense has been getting gashed lately and it’s allowing 34 points per game in region contests. The Warriors are coming off a game where Brandon scored 52 points, too.
“I think it’s a lot of things,” Causey said. “We’ve played some really good football teams. At times we haven’t tackled really well, so I think that’s been a big factor. That’s where I start off with. We really haven’t tackled as well as we’re probably capable of tackling.”
Defensively, the Pirates are only allowing opponents to score 11 points per game, and they’ve pitched two shutouts in the two of their last three games. In region games, teams are only scoring four points, too, and only one team, Meridian’s 12, scored in double figures.
“They’re just a really solid defense,” Causey said. “The linebackers are very athletic. They do a good job of running to the football. The defensive line, they play really well, too, and they have some guys on the back-end to cover. They’re just a very, very good football team.”
