PURVIS – Like two prizefighters trying to land the final blow, Purvis landed the fatal blow with 11 seconds to play when quarterback Ty Howell bobbed and weaved behind his offensive line to score a 4-yard touchdown for the 35-28 victory over the Sumrall Bobcats at home.
The victory in the Battle of 589 pushed the Tornadoes to 3-3 on the year and 1-0 after the District 7-4A opener for both teams. Sumrall fell to 4-3, 0-1.
Perry Wheat, the Purvis head coach, said his team looked different from the squad that edged out edged out Seminary 12-7 last week at Homecoming.
“Our offense played a lot better, but he had penalties in the first half,” he said. “We had two big penalties in the first half that hurt us and put us in a hole. Overall, I thought our kids played hard again. We left some points out on the field offensively, but I am proud of the way our kids got after it.”
In the second half, Purvis scored 28 unanswered points in just more than eight minutes to take a 28-21 lead with 11:53 to go in the game. Running back Robert Bolton and Howell pushed the ground game for the Tornadoes; Bolton scored three touchdowns on 141 yards with 27 carries, while Howell carried 12 times for 56 yards and two scores.
Wheat said Sumrall put the Tornadoes back on their heels during the game.
“They’ve got a really good offense,” he said. “They threw it well and have a great receiver. They were able to establish a running game; we didn’t think they would happen, but they did.”
Running back Derrick Lemieux led the rushing attack for the Bobcats with13 totes for 71 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Billy Garrity carried seven times for 4 total yards and one score.
In the battle of star-studded receivers, four-star Sumrall standout Dannis Jackson made eight receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown. Purvis three-star athlete C.J. Bolar – who sat out last week’s victory against Seminary – had five receptions for 51 yards.
Wheat said his defense stiffened in the second half.
“I thought our defense made some important stops in the second half,” he said, noting the Tornadoes forced Sumrall to give the ball over on downs twice, picked off an errant pass and recovered the misplayed punt that led to the winning points.
Sumrall coach Shannon White agreed with Wheat that the last team with the ball was going to be the winner.
“The team fought hard,” he said outside the visitors’ locker room. “I just thought we made more mistakes than they did. We had some costly mistakes that cost us the game and those things add up at the end.”
White downplayed Jackson’s fumble while fielding the punt late in the game.
“It wasn’t just the fumble on the punt,” he said. “I can go back to the first quarter and show you some things that we could have done better, that I could have done better. We are not in this game without Dannis Jackson; it doesn’t matter who fumbled the punt.”
White said his defense also stepped up in the second half.
“I was really proud of our defense, no matter the score,” he said, noting that Purvis scored on the first drive, a six-play, 62-yard march. “The opening drive was really bad; I thought they earned what they got. We gave them a short field on a punt and we gave them a short field when we didn’t convert on fourth down. We trusted our defense and we put a lot of faith in them.”
Sumrall scored on its first possession, driving 58 yards in 11 plays, including converting on a fourth-and-1 situation. Purvis, however, led 8-7 with 4:09 in the first quarter. Neither team managed to score again until Jackson picked off a Howell pass in the end zone and returned it to the Bobcats’ 30.
Eight plays later – with the aid of a pass interference call – Lemieux went the final 5 yards to score and put Sumrall ahead 12-8 with 2:36 until intermission.
This time, Sumrall opened with a scoring drive, this time in the third quarter. With four plays – including two passes to Jackson for 39 yards – the Bobcats went 42 yards for the score. Jackson caught the 19-yard TD pass with 10:09 to go in the third quarter after the pass went through a defender’s hands. Sumrall led 21-8.
Purvis then hitched up its scoring pants, going 64 yards on five plays for a TD, turning an interception into a 21-yard, one-play drive with Bolton’s dash for the end zone and opening the fourth quarter with Bolton’s 5-yard scoring run. The Tornadoes turned a 2-18 deficit into a 28-21 lead.
Sumrall countered with a 43-yard pass from Garrity to Jackson that led to Lemieux’s 2-yard TD run with10:15 left in the game and score tied 28-all. Both teams changed possessions twice without scoring before the misplayed punt gave Purvis the ball at the Bobcats’ 25 with 1:35 to play.
Bolton and Howell combined for three yards on two plays before Howell connected with Steven Swayze for 16 yards to the Sumrall 6. Two plays later, Howell went the final four yards for the score.
White said the Bobcats’ record doesn’t reflect the hard work by his team.
“That was two heartbreakers there,” he said, with the 34-29 loss to Pass Christian at home and the Purvis defeat. “We should be 6-1, but you are what your record says you are.”
Sumrall hosts Lawrence County next Friday, while Purvis travels to Leakesville to play Greene County.
Purvis 35,
Sumrall 28
Score by Quarter
Sumrall 7 7 7 7—28
Purvis 8 0 13 14—35
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
P—Bolton, 2 run, (2-point successful), 9:06.
S—Garrity, 4 run, (kick successful), 4:09.
Second Quarter
S—Lemieux, 5 run, (kick successful), 2:36.
Third Quarter
S—Jackson, 19 pass from Garrity, (kick successful), 10:09.
P—Howell, 5 run, (kick unsuccessful), 8:19.
P—Bolton, 21 run, (kick successful), 6:35.
Fourth Quarter
P—Bolton, 5 run, (kick successful), 11:53.
S—Lemieux, 2 run, (kick successful), 10:15.
P—Howell, 4 run, (kick successful), 0:11.
TEAM STATISTICS
S P
First Downs 12 15
Rushes-Yards 25-87 40-203
Att-Comp-Int. 19-10-1 19-12-1
Passing Yards 154 132
Total Plays-Yards 44-241 59-335
Punts-Avg. 2-26 2-29.5
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-0
Penalties 5-37 6-71
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Sumrall: Lemieux 13-71 2TDs, Garrity 7-4 TD, Cocroft 3-4, Preston 1-4, Jackson 1-4.
Purvis: Bolton 27-141 3TDs, Howell, 12-56 2TDs, Burge 1-6.
Passing
Sumrall: Garrity 10-of-19, 154 yds., TD, INT.
Purvis: Howell 12-of-19, 132 yds., INT.
Receiving
Sumrall: Jackson 8-127 TD, Berry 2-27.
Purvis: Bolar 5-51, Swayze 2-34, Burge 2-31, Jaciuk 3-10.
