Playing back-to-back games against 6A teams might be intimidating to most football coaches, but for Picayune Memorial High School’s Head Football Coach Dodd Lee, it’s a welcome invitation.

“We enjoy playing tough teams in the beginning of the season because it not only shows how you stack up, but it also shows the perseverance your team has,” Lee said.

On Friday, the Maroon Tide will take on St. Martin High School, one of the top ranked in Mississippi according to MaxPreps.com.

Last week, Picayune dismantled D’Iberville 35-7 with the help of their starting running back Josh Littles, who rushed for 204 yards and scored two touchdowns at the Warriors’ stadium.

“We showed signs of leadership on our team last week from a couple of players,” Lee said. “It’s great to see that, especially when some of them are going to be around for a while.”

Lee said that for Picayune to get their second win in a row it’s going to take “a great effort from the whole team,” because of the talent St. Martin has on offense. In their first two games of the season, St. Martin averaged 43 points per game.

Kalem Reddix, Yellowjackets’ star wide out, demonstrated his division-1 skill set against the Poplarville Hornets. He had six receptions for 242 yards and three touchdowns. Yellowjackets’ talented quarterback Wayne Overman connected with Reddix on touchdown throws of 22, 57, and 85 yards in that game.

“[Reddix] is an outstanding player. The quarterback is talented too. They are good enough to single anyone out,” Lee said. “We will have to limit Reddix’s yards after a catch to contain him.”

With the Maroon Tide nearly shutting out D’Iberville last week, conceding their only touchdown in the late minutes of the fourth quarter, Lee is confident in his defense.

However, in that game, Picayune fumbled the ball twice on drives that Lee said could have been scoring opportunities.

“We can’t turn the ball over like that. We fumbled the ball on the center-quarterback exchange twice. In the playoffs you go home for plays like that,” Lee said.

On the bright side, Lee sees progress from the team. At the beginning of the school year, Lee said the team practices twice a day; once before school starts and again when classes are over, preparing for the Maroon Tide’s difficult season.

Picayune plays their first home game Friday against St. Martin at 7 p.m. with a 1-0 record. St. Martin is also undefeated, 2-0.