HATTIESBURG – It’s safe to say Friday’s Petal-Oak Grove matchup lived up to the hype, and it’ll make a nice addition in the already storied rivalry.
Big plays and mistakes were prevalent from both teams, but the Panthers capped off the night with a defensive stop at the goal line to beat the Warriors for the second straight season, 41-37.
“Our kids didn’t panic on the sideline,” Petal coach Marcus Boyles said. “Our offensive guys didn’t panic. I’m just so proud of those kids.”
Every time Oak Grove made something happen on offense, or forced Petal into an uncomfortable situation, the Panthers didn’t bat an eye on offense. It was almost as if the Panthers needed Oak Grove score to get their own offense going in the right direction.
“Offensively, we played probably the best we’ve played all year tonight,” Boyles said. “Finally, we put it all together and competed for four quarters. It wasn’t always pretty. Oak Grove is really good on defense and competed well, and there was no panic when they scored.”
The Warriors were forced to punt on their opening possession, but a muffed punt gave Oak Grove the ball back. It would eventually score two plays later – a 28-yard rush by Oak Grove quarterback, John Rhys Plumlee – to take an early 7-0 lead.
Petal answered the muffed punt and Oak Grove’s touchdown with a five-play, 63-yard drive to tie it at 7. Senior quarterback Jordan Wilson finished the possession with a 14-yard touchdown throw to Natorian “Deuce” Watts.
When the Warriors added a field goal in the second quarter, Wilson led his offense on a 12-play, 62-yard drive, which ended on a 15-yard touchdown pass form Wilson to junior Trent Williams. That gave the Panthers their first lead, 14-10.
Oak Grove pushed back ahead 17-14 with less than 30 seconds left in the half, but an unsportsmanlike penalty after the touchdown gave the Panthers the ball at midfield, then another unsportsmanlike penalty allowed Wilson to connect with Williams for a 22-yard touchdown with 6 seconds left to give Petal a 21-17 lead at the break.
The trend of Petal answering Oak Grove would repeat itself in the second half, too. When Oak Grove took a 29-28 lead, Nataurean “Phat” Watts broke loose for a 35-yard score to give Petal the lead back, 34-29.
“I knew we were both good on offense, so I knew there was a chance,” Oak Grove coach Drew Causey said about the shootout. “We just have to play better. We had way too many stupid penalties tonight, and we can’t do that and beat good teams.”
Phat Watts went down in the first half with a tailbone injury, but after jogging it off on the sideline after halftime, he returned to the field. He finished the night with 130 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.
He wasn’t done either.
After Plumlee took the ball to the house from 95 yards out to give Oak Grove the 37-34 lead with 1:50 left in the game, Watts scored from 49 yards with 1:23 left to give Petal the lead for good.
“It was a game of big moments, big plays,” Boyles said. “They had several. I thought we had done a pretty good job on Plumlee, and he just took the game over.”
Petal’s Jordan Wilson
It wasn’t a career night for the senior signal caller, but it was one of the most efficient games in his career, especially in the first half. Wilson was 12-for-16 through the first two quarters with 129 yards and three touchdowns, and more importantly, he had zero interceptions.
Wilson finished the night with 190 yards, four touchdowns and an interception on 17-of-29 passing.
“Jordan played really well,” Boyles said. “Really and truly, the interception was a great play by their defensive back. He just undercut it. Jordan made a great throw and the guy made a great play on it.”
Oak Grove’s John Rhys Plumlee
The junior had a few mistakes he’d like back, which included a fumble at the end of the third quarter, but without him, the Warriors would have had an uphill battle.
Even though he had negative plays of 9, 5 and 26 yards, thanks to a bad snap and sacks, he finished the night with 122 yards rushing and three scores on the ground on 22 carries. He also passed for 241 passing yards and two touchdowns on 15-of-26 passing.
“He had a heck of a game,” Causey said. “We just didn’t do enough to win.”
Not only was his 28-yard score in the first quarter highlight-worthy, but when his team trailed 34-29 with less than two minutes left, he rushed up the middle for a 95-yard score that sent Warrior Field into a frenzy.
On Oak Grove’s final play, a fourth-and-5 from the Petal 6-yard line with 7 seconds left, Plumlee scrambled but was stuffed by the Panthers’ defense.
“I told our defensive coordinator, ‘Plumlee is fixing to try to run this football on the last play,’ because that’s the competitor that he is,” Boyles said. “I don’t blame him. Man, what a great competitor Plumlee is.”
Petal 41,
Oak Grove 37
Score by Quarter
Petal 7 14 13 7—41
Oak Grove 7 10 12 8—37
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
OG —Plumlee 28 run, (kick good), 8:33.
P —Phat Watts 14 pass from Wilson, (kick good), 7:01.
Second Quarter
OG —Sobiesk 22 field goal, 9:25.
P —Williams 15 pass from Wilson, (kick good) 3:51.
OG —Plumlee 1 run, (kick good), 0:26.
P —Williams 22 pass from Wilson, (kick good), 0:06.
Third Quarter
P —Deuce Watts 43 pass from Wilson, (kick good), 10:14.
OG —Barnett 9 pass from Plumlee, (2-point unsuccessful), 6:47.
OG —Thompson 75 pass from Plumlee, (2-point unsuccessful), 5:03.
P —Phat Watts 35 run, (2-point unsuccessful), 3:51.
Fourth Quarter
OG —Plumlee 95 run, (2-point successful), 1:55.
P —Phat Watts 49 run, (kick good), 1:23.
TEAM STATISTICS
P OG
First Downs 13 18
Rushes-Yards 26-158 46-244
Att-Comp-Int. 29-17-1 26-15-0
Passing Yards 190 241
Total Plays-Yards 55-348 72-485
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 4-2
Punts-Avg. 5-43.8 5-39.4
Penalties 5-36.5 10-105
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Petal: Phat Watts 14-130 yds. 2 TDs; Jones 4-24; McGowan 5-18; Wilson 3-(-12).
OG: Plumlee 22-122 3 TDs; Simon 17-103; Hayes 3-13; Maples 2-3; Harris 2-3.
Passing
Petal: Wilson 17-of-29, 190 yds. 4 TDs, INT.
OG: Plumlee 15-of-26, 241 yds. 2 TDs.
Receiving
Petal: WIlliams 4-62, 2 TDs; Deuce Watts 3-60, TD; Phat Watts 3-30, TD; Bridges 4-22; Russell 3-15.
OG: Barnett 10-117, TD; Thompson 2-88, TD; Hayes 2-28; Simon 1-26.
