By James Jones
Sun Herald

D’Iberville—Josh Littles rushed for 204 yards and scored two touchdowns as Picayune beat D’Iberville 35-7 in their high school football matchup on Friday night at Warrior Stadium.
It was the season opener for both teams.
Picayune took a 7-0 first quarter lead on Blake Merrifield’s one-yard touchdown run. Littles’ 50-yard run set up the scoring drive.
The Maroon Tide had two other chances to increase their lead in the second quarter, but D’Iberville’s defense stepped up.
Fred Green recovers Merrifield’s fumble at the Warriors’ 25 yard line two minutes in the second quarter.
Littles was stopped a yard short on fourth and two at the Warriors’ 24 with 6:22 left before halftime.
D’Iberville had a chance to tie the game at halftime. The Warriors had the ball at Picayune’s one with 10 seconds left.
Picayune linebacker Brian Taylor stuffed Warriors running back Ja’Quavis Foster for a one-yard loss. The Warriors were out of timeouts and couldn’t stop the clock.
“The play at the end of the first half was big and gave us momentum,” Picayune coach Dodd Lee said. “I felt we played soft in the first half. The backs weren’t running hard and we didn’t block. D’Iberville took it to us in the first half.”
Turnovers continued to plague the Maroon Tide 2 minutes into the second half. A Tide quarterback fumble occurred on third and two at the Warriors’ 32. Green made his second fumble recovery.
Littles’ 2-yard TD run extended the Maroon Tide’s lead to 14-0 early in the third. The Maroon Tide went 98 yards in 14 plays on a drive that lasted 5:19.
Consecutive fumbles by D’Iberville late in the third allowed Picayune to deliver the knockout punch.
Picayune closed the third quarter on Michael Ferrier’s 13 yard TD run for a 21-0 lead.
Skyler Bowman’s 13 yard TD pass to Littles made it 28-0 with 10 minutes left.
Jairice Travis’ 2 yard TD run extended the Picayune lead to 35-0.
Defensive end Jacob Brumley’s blocked a Warriors’ punt to set up the drive.
D’Iberville avoided a shutout on Foster’s 70 yard TD run with 6:00 left.
Foster finished with 100 yards rushing to lead the Warriors (0-1).
Lee, who has coached Picayune to two 5A state titles, sees room for improvement.
“We’ve got a lot of things to work on,” Lee said. “We’ve got to get in better shape and play harder.”