Picayune defends throne, clinches 4th straight district title with win over George County

Deuce Knight rolled to his right. The George County quarterback had his eyes downfield as Picayune defensive end Nolan Wilson swiped toward the ball in the lefty’s hand and knocked it loose.

BJ Ducre picked it up and hit the ground, sealing Picayune’s dramatic 27-20 win over the Rebels and securing its fourth straight region championship and second out of Region 4-6A.

It was the third turnover the Maroon Tide defense forced the five-star Auburn commit into and the second of the second half.

“We stepped up and made some plays and that’s just the bottom line,” Picayune coach Cody Stogner said. “It was just the resiliency of these guys. We had some guys play 120 snaps, so it wasn’t easy tonight. But they found a way and they dug deep.”

Just one possession prior, the Rebels were only a yard away from potentially tying the game. The sequence that followed was a tackle for loss, false start, a sack and a quarterback pressure that resulted in Knight throwing the ball away on fourth and goal from the 16.

Knight — one week removed from a nine-touchdown performance against West Harrison — was under constant duress and failed to hit a single deep ball. The Maroon Tide were in the backfield on nearly every play and kept the Rebels’ crop of shifty wideouts in front of them.

“People call Picayune a second-half team, but I feel like we worked just as hard in both,” Wilson said. “I believe that we as a team did good throughout the whole game.”

Another second-half comeback

The two high-powered offenses produced just six points in the first quarter and they came from Darrell Smith’s four-yard touchdown on the Tide’s opening drive.

There were three straight possessions that ended in lost fumbles at one point in the first half, including fumbles from Knight and Smith.

The levee broke near the end of the first half when the pair traded scores on the final three drives of the second quarter. An 18-yard touchdown run by Smith was sandwiched by a rushing and passing touchdown from Knight.

The Rebels opened the third quarter with a successful onside kick and another rushing touchdown from Knight, putting the Maroon Tide in a position they have become all too comfortable with: a second-half deficit.

Drawing on experience from comeback wins over D’Iberville, Ocean Springs and Pascagoula, the Maroon Tide dominated the last quarter-and-a-half of football.

“We played a lot of big games early and I think that pays dividends now in the back half of the season when you get into these big games,” Stogner said. “It pays off in the long run to play those tough teams and get us prepared for games like tonight.”

Triston Cooper found the end zone twice and quarterback-cornerback Brandon Parker picked off a desperation heave from Knight.

George County had just three possessions after opening the second half with a score and they ended in three-and-out, turnover on downs and fumble.

“We just got the MXT,” Parker said. “When you go in the building, it’s MXT: mental toughness, extra effort. That’s all it is for 48 minutes straight. We say it at every practice.”

Team effort

Stogner told his team during the week that would require everyone to beat George County.

That would ring true. The seemingly limitless Smith — nicknamed “Robo” due to playing nearly every snap in all three phases — was banged up in the fourth quarter.

Others stepped up. Seldom-used Makon Burnette broke a long run on fourth and short to extend a drive that would melt five minutes of clock in the fourth quarter.

Spell back Cooper tied the game with a four-yard run in the third and gave the Tide the lead with a five-yard score with 10 minutes left to play.

“We said it was going to take every person on this team to win this game tonight,” Stogner said. “That’s what I’m so proud of because we did see a total team effort in this win tonight.”

Picayune entered the season with a load of production to replace on both sides of the ball and were thought to be underdogs in its own district with the rise of George County and Pascagoula and following an early playoff exit with a senior-heavy team in 2023.

Instead, the Maroon Tide defied expectations with a new starting quarterback, remade offensive line and a dearth of call-ups on defense.

“It builds confidence moving forward into the postseason,” Stogner said. “A lot of new faces, a lot of young guys that have probably never been in this situation, but they know the standard here at Picayune.”

Picayune has one final regular season game at Hancock next week before entering the postseason with a top seed and homefield advantage.