By CURTIS ROCKWELL

Item Sports Editor

The streak is over.

Homestanding Picayune jumped out to a quick 21-0 lead after 15 minutes of play, and held on for a 27-21 win in a key Region 3-5A game Friday night against Wayne County.

It was the first ever win for the Maroon Tide in six all-time meetings against the War Eagles. The win gives Picayune the second seed in the league, behind West Jones while WCHS finishes third and Brookhaven fourth.

“Picayune was well prepared to play and we weren’t, and that’s my fault,” WCHS head coach Marcus Boyles, whose team is 8-3 overall and ends up 5-2 in league play, said. “We played a very good football team that was ready to play and we weren’t.”

Picayune quarterback Jacob Kennedy threw for three touchdowns and Picayune scored on its first three possessions.

“We got some consistency in our passing game early and that helped us,” Picayune head coach Dodd Lee, whose team has lost in the playoffs three of the last four years to the War Eagles, said. “We’ve had some tough losses to them. It’s always good to win.”

Picayune’s Wayne McMooain set up two scores for the Maroon Tide, as he returned a punt 42 yards early in the game to the WCHS 16.

On the first play, Kennedy went right to work as he hit Jonathan Moore on a 16-yard scoring strike.

On the Tide’s second possession, Kennedy and Moore hooked up on a 22 yard completion on a fourth and 12 situation form the WCHS 26.

One play later, Jamal Hall gave Picayune a 14-0 lead with a 5-yard scoring run.

After McMooain recovered a fumble, Kennedy went right back to the passing lanes early in the second quarter, hitting Scottie Merrill on a 3-yard touchdown toss to make it 21-0. Dalton O’Meara kicked three extra points.

The score was set up when Kennedy and Merrill hooked up on a 61 yard screen pass.

“We really didn’t do anything differently,” Lee said, of the outburst. “We just made some plays.”

The War Eagles stormed back with 21 consecutive points over the rest of the second quarter and most of the third, as Malik Lofton scored on a 90-yard kickoff return as well as on a 50-yard pass from DeMarcus Henderson. Reshunn Bowman also scored on a 3-yard run for WCHS that tied the game at 21-21 with three minutes left in the third frame.

“We let them back in the game, and we can’t let that happen anymore,” Lee added.

After the teams exchanged punts, Picayune would drive 74 yards on 14 plays and take almost seven minutes off the clock to win the game on a 21-yard pass from Kennedy to Chris Burton with 16 seconds left in the game.

Merrill then wrapped up the win when he recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff.

“I think it will help our psyche that we finally beat them,” Lee concluded. “But we also need to get over this win and get ready for the playoffs.”

Kennedy had one of his best games for the Tide, as he completed nine of 15 passes for 190 yards and the three scores. Moore hauled in six catches for 88 yards and the score.

Hall ran for 126 yards despite being hampered in the second half by a slight ankle injury.

Picayune hosts D’Iberville to begin the playoffs Friday while Wayne County travels to Gautier Friday.