As it had been said leading up to the Hattiesburg and Laurel rivalry game, it has survived World Wars, hurricanes and now the COVID-19 pandemic. Sure enough, the 99th Battle for the Little Brown Jug did not disappoint as the Tigers came away with a 26-12 upset victory.
For Hattiesburg, the win was an opportunity to erase last year’s disappointing game and season as the team wanted to inaugurate its newly laid turf field successfully.
“I told our kids that this is brand new turf,” Hattiesburg coach Tony Vance said. “You don’t want to be the first team to lose on brand new turf.
“Our guys came up time and time again and made big plays when they had.”
Key in helping inaugurate D.I. Patrick Stadium’’s new field was the Tiger defense as Hattiesburg came away with five interceptions, two fumbles, failed to recover a squib kick, and turned the ball over once on downs.
“It looked like the first game of the year for both teams,” Vance said. “There was an awful lot of turnovers, but give credit to our defensive guys. Defense helped cause those turnovers. I think both teams will continue to get better offensively but hats off to the defense tonight.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Hattiesburg’s offense got on the board as quarterback Jermaine Powell connected with Josh Jones for a 21-yard touchdown to take a 6-0 lead.
On Laurel’s following drive, Hattiesburg’s Tabias Hinton came up with a fumble. Three plays later, Russell connected with Jack Jackson for a 43-yard touchdown to take a 14-0 lead at halftime. Before the half, the Tigers came up with an interception and recovered a squib kick to total four turnovers in the first half.
The third quarter continued to showcase Hattiesburg’s defense as the Tigers killed two of the Tornados’ drives with defensive back Walt Thompson coming away with two of his three interceptions in the quarter.
“Walt was banged up last week and didn’t get to play,” Vance said. “He’s a senior that has continued to get better for us each and every year. Last year was his first year back in football, and he has gotten better since he came back. Each week he has continued to improve. Super proud of his efforts tonight.”
Midway through the fourth quarter, Laurel finally found life as Laurel’s quarterback Dexter Scott completed his only pass of the night for a 31-yard touchdown, but the Tigers managed to answer with a blocked punt. Scott finished the game 1-of-13 with five interceptions thrown.
While Laurel’s offense struggled, the Tornados were without their team-leading rusher from last season, Xavier Evans. The Tornados also lost their top receiver, Kanarius Johnson on the first drive of the game.
Laurel continued to have momentum after forcing a three-and-out on Hattiesburg and blocking a punt inside the Tigers’ 20-yard line. Laurel running back Kiron Benjamin, who finished the night with 85 yards on 18 carries, scored on a 9-yard touchdown run.
Despite the late production, Hattiesburg made a key stop on the following two-point conversion.
“(I told them) the game isn’t over, and we have to keep playing,” Vance said. “We knew they were going to come back and make some plays. That’s the type of caliber team that Coach Ryan Earnest always has. We knew they weren’t going to quit and make plays. We just kept preaching to our guys that we are O.K., to keep fighting, and to keep playing for each other.”
The Tigers kept the momentum and put the game away as running back Jaquez Andrews broke out a 38-yard touchdown run in the game’s lone offensive drive of the night.
“This jug game means a lot to us, especially for the city of Hattiesburg,” Andrews said. “This is very special for us. We got this back. At the beginning of the first half, I was trying to get used to the ball. I moved back to running back as a senior, so I’m still trying to get used to the offense. The coaches trust me to run the ball. I told my teammates in the second half that I would come through.”
Andrews finished rushed for 82 yards on 27 carries.
“That’s what we expect (Andrews) to do,” Vance said. “Any time he touches, we expect him to possibly score. The biggest thing was that he took care of the football tonight and didn’t lay it on the ground. He is built to carry the load in the fourth quarter when we are trying to run the clock out and win the ball game. We know we can put it in his hands. As long as he is taking care of it, we’ll be alright.”
While Hattiesburg’s offense helped secure the lead, the Tiger defense came with a pick-six and another interception in Laurel’s final two drives of the game.
“Last year was the first time that we didn’t bring it back,” Vance said. “We had won it five years in a row. Six out of seven (years), I’ll take it.”
