By Jeremy Pittari   For the first half of the game Picayune’s Maroon Tide gave the d’Iberville Warriors a game they would not soon forget. But a crucial fumble in the second half turned the game in the Warriors’ favor. “We had first and a foot on the 25 or 30 or so and we fumbled the football, turned it over and they get up two scores. That pretty much ended the game,” said Head Coach Dodd Lee. Even with the loss, Lee is confident his young team will grow as the season progresses. “We’ll keep fighting and get better. I’ve got to try to make them at least drive the ball defensively,” Lee said. During the first half, the Tide didn’t let the Warriors think they were going to win, even when they brought the ball to the endzone early in the game. After an unsuccessful first possession of the ball, the Tide turned it over to the Warriors, who capitalized on their first play with a 55 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jacquelle Green to wide receiver John Collins. The successful point after touchdown put the score at 7-0 Warriors. Two possessions each later and the Tide would even the score when running back Josh Littles carried the ball more than 30 yards for the first of many Tide touchdowns just as time ran out in the first quarter. With the first quarter over, and a successful extra point attempt, the Tide was tied at 7-7. It took only seconds to click off the clock in the second quarter before Green would use the Warriors’ first possession to carry the ball more than 70 yards to the endzone. The extra point gave the Warriors a lead of 14-7 with 11:40 left to play in the half. Picayune’s home team would tie it up within nine plays and three first downs to allow full back Blake Merrifield to carry the ball about 20 yards to the goal line. With the successful punt towards the uprights, the score was again tied, 14-14. A fumble during the Warriors’ subsequent possession would allow the Tide to take possession and utilize four plays to complete a pass from the Tide’s quarterback Skylar Bowman to wide receiver Kevin Reed for a 30-yard touchdown, leaving 2:32left in the second quarter. A successful extra point attempt brought the score to 21-14. Just as soon as the Warriors took control of the ball, they too utilized four plays to score a touchdown pass from Green to Collins, bringing the score to a 21-21 tie with the successful kick through the uprights. During halftime the team took a moment to recognize the many local business owners that helped fund construction of the team’s new playing surface. When the teams took the field for the second half and the ball was set for a first down at the 45 yard line, Green would run the ball all the way to the end zone, ultimately putting the score at 28-21. Ten plays and four first downs later, Tide running back Trey Wimbrow would bring the ball across the goal line for five yards with 4:08 left to play in the third quarter. The score was tied, 28-28. Three plays later and a successful pass from Green to wide receiver Dj Polk would give the Warriors the lead with a score of 35-28 and 2:40 left to play in the third quarter. The Tide would execute a drive to the Warriors’ 46-yard line and execute a running play where Littles ran for a touchdown with 11:52 left in the game, brining the score to it’s final tie, 35-35. Two plays later in the Warriors’ next possession would allow them to complete a more than 50-yard touchdown pass from Green to Polk, giving them a lead that would continue the rest of the game.  The successful extra point attempt brought the score to 42-35 with 10:52 left to play. The back and forth action of the night was on target to continue, but the fumble Lee spoke about occurred on first and ten with less than 25 yards to the end zone, giving the Warriors possession of the ball once more. Green would later run the ball to the endzone, putting the score with extra point at 49-35 with 7:56 left in the fourth, followed by a final touchdown run by Collins with 2:58 left to play. The next possession by the Tide also resulted in a fumble on the fourth play of the drive, leaving the Warriors with a more than two touchdown lead and little more than a minute to play. Two kneels were utilized by the Warriors to bring the game to a close. The game would end with a score of 56-35, and give the Tide their first loss of the season. The Tide will travel to St. Martin next week, where they will face the Yellow Jackets. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.