Picayune falls 12-7 to Pascagoula

Published 7:00 am Saturday, October 31, 2015

pmagee@sunherald.com Twitter: Patrick_Magee

PASCAGOULA – After coming up with stops in crucial situations all night long, the Pascagoula defense made one last stand in the fourth quarter to lift the Panthers to a 12-7 victory over Picayune Friday night.

A failed pitch in the backfield resulted in a Pascagoula fumble with 6:59 remaining, giving Picayune the ball at the Pascagoula 42.

Picayune gradually pushed the ball inside the Pascagoula 10, but Skylar Bowman’s pass in the end zone was too deep for his target on fourth-and-goal from the 11 to end the Maroon Tide’s rally with 1:57remaining.

Pascagoula (7-3, 5-1) ran out the clock to earn the No. 2 seed in Region 4-6A and earn a first-round home playoff game.

“This is huge, especially against such a fine team traditionally like Picayune,” Pascagoula coach Lewis Sims said. “(Picayune) is extremely young, but they battle. They’re tough. I’m proud that our guys were tougher a little bit longer.

“We were able to make a big defensive stand. Our defense played tremendously well. I can’t say enough about how well our defense played.”

Picayune running back Josh Littles tried to give it a go Friday night despite an injury, but he left the game midway through the second drive of the game for the Maroon Tide.

Vyron Brown led Picayune with 13 carries for 66 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown with 11:06 left in the fourth quarter.

“We made a few mistakes, but that happens,” Picayune coach Dodd Lee said. “I thought our effort was great in the second half.”

Pascagoula went up 2-0 after one quarter due to a mishandled handoff in the backfield that led to Bowman having to cover a fumble in the end zone for a safety.

Griffin Sublett added a 29-yard field goal for Pascagoula to make it 5-0 at the half.

Pascagoula stretched the lead to 12-0 on a powerful 15-yard run for a touchdown by Reginald Hunter Jr. with 1:53 left in the third quarter.

Picayune, which is assured a spot in the playoffs, will host rival Pearl River Central in the regular season finale while Pascagoula will host its rival, Gautier.