Published: May 09, 2008 12:37 pm         

Tide scrimmages tonight

PICAYUNE — Picayune wraps up it annual spring football practice tonight with a trip to Forrest County.

The Maroon Tide of veteran head coach Dodd Lee will travel to Brooklyn to take on both the host FCAHS squad as well as Region 8-4A foe Long Beach in a pair of scrimmages.

The Picayune junior varsity kicks things off around 4:30 with a pair of 20 play sessions against both the Aggies and Bearcats.

The Maroon Tide varsity will then take the field between 6-6:30 p.m., and will play a regulation half of prep football except with no kickoffs.

Picayune will meet the host Aggies first then follow that with a scrimmage against the Bearcats, then FCAHS and LBHS will close out the event against each other in the same type of format.

Lee said that it has been a pretty typical spring so far for Picayune.

“There’s been some good things and we’ve had some injuries, that’s normally what takes place,” Lee, whose team is coming off an 11-2 season and fell in the Class 4A South State semifinals.

Lee said that Picayune would be without the services of a few players tonight that the Maroon Tide will be looking to get some production out of when next season rolls around in August.

Fullback Gabe Hinojosa has been sidelined with a leg injury all spring, while wide receiver Mark Dragon has been out with an injury as well. Both Jonathan Moore and Iry Robertson will be running in the Class 4A state track and field meet today in Pearl and won’t be available for tonight’s gam.

Lee also said that receiver Terrance McCann injured a knee and will be lost for the season.

He also said that powerful lineman Jon Billups has been one of the standouts this spring for the Tide, along with quarterback Jacob Kennedy and running backs T’Deryl Grays, and Jerod Jones as well just to mention a few names.

Grays and Jones will be among a handful of backs looking to replace standout Albert Richards, who ran for over 4,000 yards and scored more than 50 touchdowns over the past two seasons.

Richards was one of five Tide standouts that signed with Pearl River Community College that must be replaced as well as Auburn signee Drew Cole who was a standout on both sides of the ball.

Picayune opens the season on the same field against the same opponent as it ended last year, at Moss Point.