In a 49-7 blowout, the score certainly stands out, especially in the season opener for both teams.
Coaches from both teams – a dominant 6A Oak Grove squad that hosted Lamar County foe Purvis from Class 4A – had figured the game would end up with numbers on one side in the stratosphere. They even joked about the mismatch before the contest.
Oak Grove, fielding one of its most dominant teams in years for coach Drew Causey, was destined to drub Purvis, which had half the number of players under first-year coach Brad Hankins compared to the mighty Warriors.
However, long after the outcome of the game had been decided on the scoreboard, two plays – one from each team – made more of a difference for each coach than the numbers they produced.
To set the stage, the clock had been running almost uncontrollably since the second half started and home-standing Oak Grove was leading by a 42-0 mark. Hankins had seen his Purvis Tornadoes throttled by the Warriors defense all night, managing only 10 yards on the ground by the time Purvis got the ball in the fourth quarter.
Another 3-yard run by Wayne Ray (who led the team with 42 yards on the night) put the football at the Tornadoes’ 25-yard line. Hankins figured quarterback Mason Kendrick could just sling the ball as far as he could; he had only completed 3-of-8 passes for 6 yards.
Hankins called an “X-out.” Kendricks took the ball from center and lofted it to a streaking Jesse Johnson over the middle of the field and the junior wide receiver caught it in stride. He passed two defensive backs on the way to the 75-yard touchdown.
Hankins said the play was important.
“That meant something to our kids,” he said, dodging the goose egg that could have been on the Purvis side of the scoreboard. “Sure, we hit some bumps in the road tonight, but we’ll get those fixed.”
Meanwhile, the Warriors’ starting quarterback, senior John Rhys Plumlee was watching the game from the sidelines. He took a break during the second half.
His night had ended with a passing performance of 13-of-16 completions for 171 yards and two touchdowns. He picked up 23 yards on two runs. Junior signal-caller Landon Forbes took the ball in the second half with a comfortable lead.
With Oak Grove ahead 42-7 after Purvis had just scored its only touchdown, Forbes had already seen the Oak Grove defense manage a safety in the second half. The Warriors quarterback gained valuable experience, connecting on 3-of-6 passes for only 8 yards, However, he served as a valuable second in command of the offense, leading the team to another score when running back Rick Milsaps scampered 20 yards untouched for his second TD of the game.
Forbes had managed to cut a swatch through the Purvis defense late in the game, taking Oak Grove from its own 46-yard line to the Tornadoes’ 35 in six plays. Causey called a passing play.
“We were playing an inside zone,” he said. “It called for the line to kick out so Forbes could through it to the tight end. But he just read the play.”
When Forbes rolled to the left, he saw that the tight end was covered, so he just turned on the speed and outran the Purvis defenders for the 35-yard touchdown.
“I really didn’t think he had that kind of speed,” Causey said. “He wasn’t supposed to run the ball. We corrected him on the sideline.”
Hankins said Oak Grove definitely showed its strengths in the lopsided victory.
“They are my pick to win it all,” he said. “They didn’t even have to play Plumlee in the second half. We took it on the chin tonight, but we’re going to get better.
“We only had seven players who had seen some action before tonight,” he said. “So, every time we can get everybody on the field in a game, we are going to get the experience we need.”
