The 2021 5A State Championship will be a rematch of the 2019 championship against the Picayune Maroon Tide (13-1) and the West Point Green Wave (11-0).

 

“This is the match up everyone is looking forward to,”

Head Coach Cody Stogner, who coached during that 2019 championship game, said.

 

These two teams are respected powerhouses in the state of Mississippi. Just like the Maroon Tide, West Point has a tradition of winning. The Green Wave won the last six 5A State Championships, and currently stands undefeated this season. But the Maroon Tide plans to put an end to Green Wave’s perfect season.

 

“They have a tradition of being there and wanting to win it, but I believe we match up well against them, we match up well against anybody as long as we take care of what we do,” said Stogner.

 

The Maroon Tide defense, which has been something of a brick wall to other opponents in this year’s playoffs, isn’t going to back down from the challenge of the high scoring Green Wave offense. They’ve done a great job through out the season of not letting opponent’s statistics get to their heads. Instead they’ve kept complete focus on themselves and becoming a better defensive unit.

“Our guys have done a great job of not worrying about other teams…they’re really focused on how we can be a better Picayune football team,” said Stogner. “When we focus on that, it doesn’t matter who you put out there, I really like our chances.”

 

Winning is going to come down to the day one fundamentals, the off season cliché’s and simple things practiced during the summer. For the Maroon Tide to pull off a win, Picayune will have to take care of the ball and limit big plays. In the team’s late win against the Laurel Tornados last Friday, Picayune had two costly turnovers and gave up a few big plays on defense. With out the grit and the will to fight through adversity, Picayune could have lost.

 

“This is a game where day one fundamentals come into play. Both teams are good teams, but we’re going to see who takes care of the little things,” said Stogner.

“This team has been loose all year, they’re excited about where they are at. They don’t get too low, they don’t get too high, they had the same mentality all year long and we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing and see how well we are come Saturday night,” said Stogner.

 

The 2021 5A State Championship will be held at the University of Southern Mississippi’s football stadium. Kick off will be Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.