Last season, in the first ever meeting between the two teams, because of an injury to the starter Picayune turned to an unproven running back to knock off Madison Central.

This season, with yet another starting back on the sidelines, the Jaguars had no luck again against another undiscovered Maroon Tide runner.

Picayune sophomore Jamal Hall, considered the third team tailback, came off the bench to run for 140 yards and a touchdown as the homestanding Maroon Tide knocked off Madison Central 32-22 Friday night.

Last season it was T’Daryl Grays, then also considered the team third tailback, that scored twice in a Picayune win. Grays, the starter Friday night, didn’t play in the second half as Hall took over.

Hall, new placekicker Nick Riso and versatile standout Reggie Bailey all came up big for the Maroon Tide, which moved to 2-0 with the win while the Jags fell to 1-1.

Riso booted a pair of field goal’s, including what proved to be the game winning points with just over four minutes to play.

Riso’s 40-yard kick put Picayune up 25-22, and the Maroon Tide sealed the win with a 15-yard scoring strike from Jacob Kennedy to Bailey with three minutes to play.

“Picayune truly outplayed us,” Madison Central head coach Bobby Hall said. “We were a really bad football team for most of the night, because we made way too many mistakes. We were lucky to be as close as we were, but we still had a chance to win. They just made more plays at the end.”

After Riso’s kick gave the Tide the lead for good, the Maroon Tide defense made one last stand and forced the Jags to turn the ball over on downs at their own 21.

One minute later, Bailey, who knocked down the fourth down pass from quarterback Peyton Johnson on the proceeding possession, hauled in the touchdown toss to lock up the win.

“We got tired in the second half, because we have so many players that go both ways,” veteran Picayune head coach Dodd Lee said. “His (Riso) kick was big, because I really didn’t have a good feeling when they tied it up. We just didn’t give up, and anybody should be happy to get a win over a team that is that good.”

The Maroon Tide jumped out to a 16-7 halftime lead, thanks to a 37-yard field goal by Riso and a 12-yard scoring run by Bailey in the first half as well as a 15-yard scoring run by Hall.

“He ran well, he came up big for us when we needed him to,” Lee said of Hall.

Madison Central got two scoring runs from fullback Michael Johnson, a 43-yarder in the second quarter and a 10-yarder in the third that cut the deficit to 16-14.

Kennedy hooked up with Gabe Hinojosa on a 7-yard touchdown pass late in the third period.

The Jags would tie the game at 22-22 early in the fourth frame thanks to a 3-yard touchdown run by Temarco Taylor and a two point toss from Johnson to Ladarrius Boyd, setting the stage for Picayune’s final scoring surge.

Defensively, Picayune’s Jarrod Jones had a fumble recovery to set up the Maroon Tide’s first score, while Wayne McMooain and Brett Milner had interceptions.

Grays had a pair of nifty long runs, one of 33 yards on the first play of the game an another of 52-yards in the first half as well. He finished with 95 yards rushing, but fumbled the ball into the endzone in one critical Picayune drive for a touchback and jut like last week against Moss Point missed most of the second half with what appeared to be cramps.

Picayune travels to Oak Grove Friday night.