Picayune’s victory over Wayne County, a team that previously knocked the Tide out of the playoffs the past two consecutive years, means the Tide’s quest for a state title is far from over.

“We are just having fun right now, but we know what has to be done in order to win it all,” Isidro Loya said after striking the game-winning field goal Friday.

The Maroon Tide (12-1) will take on the Laurel Golden Tornadoes (12-1) this Friday in the South State Championship game. For the past five years, Picayune has made it to the South State Championship game twice and in both of those years, the Tide became 5A state champions.

For the past three years, the 5A state champion has come from the South State Championship game and for the past two years, Laurel played Wayne County for a spot in the finals, getting through in 2014 and beating Oxford 29-26 for the state title.

Laurel’s quarterback, Tyquan Ulmer, and his pair of 6’3’’ receivers, Dontario Drummond and Je’Vah Jones, have caused headaches for Region 3-5A opponents this season, scoring an average of 49-points.

Picayune’s hard fought journey to this Friday’s game has consisted of playing against Region 3-5A teams in the playoffs, including Wingfield and Wayne County. In these games combined, Picayune scored 103 points, but allowed 68 in the process. Unfortunately for the Tide, Laurel outscored these teams 102-21 during the regular season.

In his senior year, Golden Tornadoes’ quarterback Ulmer has thrown for 2,925 yards and ran for a team-high of 870 yards. Also, he has thrown 37 touchdowns—28 to his two favorite targets—and ran for an additional five.

With only a week to prepare—and a hearty Thanksgiving meal the night before the game—Picayune’s defense will need to rest up for the challenge of containing the Golden Tornadoes’ high powered offense. In the beginning of the season, the Tide’s two starting cornerbacks pull double duty as the team’s starting running backs, Josh Littles and Shaun Anderson. However, with Littles recovering from a nagging injury, he has been lifted of his defensive duties, leaving a bulk of the defensive snaps to Anderson and V.J. Holt.

Snap count and time of possession for the Tide will be crucial for Picayune’s backfield against Laurel, but luckily the Tide has plenty of other options, including power runner David Baker and a bruising fullback, Blake Merrifield—who had a 41-yard touchdown run in the second half that gave Picayune the momentum to beat Wayne County.

Last week, Picayune did a good job of containing the Wayne County passing game, allowing only seven receptions for 164 yards and two touchdowns.

This week, competition stiffens and everything is on the line for a spot in the State Championship finals against the winner of the North State Championship game between West Point (12-1) and Lake Cormorant (10-4).

Picayune will host Laurel in the South State Championship game on Friday at 7 p.m.