Mississippi Coast’s game of the night decided by a matter of inches on a 4th-down carry

Picayune’s Darrell Smith put over 200 rushing yards under his cleats Friday, but it was about four inches that mattered the most — and they didn’t come easy.

Smith bounced off an Ocean Springs defender at the line of scrimmage and lunged forward to convert a fourth down by just the nose of the football. It was enough to run out the clock in a dramatic 38-35 win over the host Greyhounds.

“We have a saying at Picayune and it’s MTXE: mental toughness, extra effort,” Picayune head coach Cody Stogner told the Sun Herald after the game. “What you saw right there came all out of (Smith’s) body. He exemplifies what mental toughness, extra effort is and what Picayune football is.

“That’s what we preach day in and day out and he lives it. Just to see him dive for the first down to keep the ball in our hands, that’s just a great play by a great player.”

Those few inches Smith fought for put an end to a furious fourth quarter rally put together by the Greyhounds. Picayune had erased a 14-10 halftime deficit and built a 38-21 lead with just over eight minutes left to play.

Ocean Springs scored twice around a successful onside kick and was one stop away from a chance at winning the game. But Smith wouldn’t give the Greyhounds that chance.

“We’re all a brotherhood, we wear it on our chest,” Smith said. “We wear it at practice and we wear it on the field. It just comes down to who got who and who got whose back. And we all had each other’s back tonight. I know I had to lead tonight, but they had my back and I had theirs.”

The senior Louisiana commit found the end zone four times and it would have been five had he not chosen to slide when it he broke free on the game’s final play.

He carried an offense that scored on five straight possessions at one point and had a response for every punch thrown by a weapons-loaded Greyhound offense.

It was a statement win over the reigning three-time Region 4-7A champs for a team that was one week removed from a 20-point loss to another Region 4-7A team in Gulfport.

When Ocean Springs scored with ease on its opening drive via the first of two Will Smith touchdowns, it seemed for a moment growing pains would continue for the Maroon Tide — who have had to replace production en masse thanks to hefty graduation losses.

But Picayune made enough stops, forcing two punts, a fumble and a turnover on downs all while wearing down Ocean Springs with one run after another from its bell cow running back.

“We’ve been down a lot this season,” Smith said. “I’m not going to say we’re used to it, but we’ve been in that predicament before. We’re still going to eat, we’re still going to have each other’s back through it.”

“Robo” running back feasts

Smith scored touchdowns of 1, 4, 10 and 2 yards on the night. He also turned a broken halfback-pass play into a wild, field-crossing first down run on third and long, zig-zagged across Hugh Pepper field during a roughly 70-yard run and played corner against an electrically fast Bryhsen Smith on defense.

Smith is already up to 10 rushing touchdowns in five games — and and 11th score coming on a kick return against Gulfport — and is on pace to be a rare 2,000-yard back.

“I am human, but they call me ‘Robo’ for a reason,” Smith said. “I can do it all, man. God gave me a gift. I just put it to use.”

Picayune running backs have traditionally had the luxury cycling on and off the field thanks to a stable that has produced multiple Division I players like Nebraska’s Dante Dowdell and Stanford’s Chris Davis in recent years.

But Smith is getting the majority of the workload this season. He’s well over 100 carries, while no one else has more than 40. But Stogner won’t dare take him off the field.

“He loves it. He gets mad if we don’t give it to him,” Stogner said. “We would like to keep him on a pitch count, but he loves it. He wants the ball in his hands, so why deny him that opportunity?”

Some of the pressure is alleviated by Triston Cooper and BJ Ducre, the latter of which scored a key touchdown late in the third quarter.

Smith is also helped by first-year starting quarterback Brandon Parker, who brings a very different element than what the Tide have been used to at the position.

Former three-year starter Brady Robertson was often referred to as a linebacker due to his stature and affinity for devastating downfield blocks. Parker is known as a cornerback— because he is one. The senior is playing quarterback for the first time after an offseason injury to the would’ve-been starter.

Parker’s defensive back size allows him to hide behind the Picayune offensive line and gives the offense a slippery option look that utilizes fullback dives, end-arounds and quarterback rollouts, in between Smith’s punishing runs.

He also brings vocal leadership and a team-first mentality that commands and drives the Picayune Football Machine.

“It’s not what I bring to the team, it’s my God gift meshed with everybody else,” Parker said. “We’re all together.”

Like Smith, Parker doesn’t leave the field when his offense steps to the sideline.

“He’s such a great kid, great player and great athlete,” Stogner said of Parker. “He just started learning how to play quarterback back in January. For him to step in that role and do what he’s done and how he’s able to control our offense, it says a lot about him as a person. What a leader that guy is just to be able to do that and then go play corner over there every dang snap. I love that guy to death.”

While Picayune hasn’t been written off completely, many coaches, players and media see an opportunity for someone to wrestle loose the Tide’s grip on the Coast and the South side of the state.

After all, Picayune lost multiple running backs, its quarterback, every all-region offensive lineman, a four star edge rusher and a linebacker with three 100-tackle seasons. To boot, it’s in a district with a five star quarterback at George County and a three star quarterback at Pascagoula.

But the championship standard hasn’t changed for the Tide and they’re eager to respond to the noise.

“We’re coming,” Parker said. “With God behind our back, he’s in us. Everybody’s coming. Not just one person, not just two people, everybody’s coming.”

“This year, we have more of a brotherhood,” Smith said. “I feel like with a brotherhood, you can do anything. We’re all one family.”

Picayune will have one more test before district play next week against a 4-1 Petal team that has already secured blowout wins over Region 4-6A teams Long Beach and Hancock.