Patrick’s Picks: Picayune tries to slow down D’Iberville’s newly minted SEC commit
This Friday’s high school football game on the Coast that may tell us the most about what’s to come from the two teams involved will take place at Lee-Triplett Stadium in Picayune.
The Maroon Tide play host to a D’Iberville team that pulled off arguably the most impressive win on the Coast last week in a 24-0 victory over Class 3A powerhouse Jefferson Davis County.
Picayune will have to find a way to account for D’Iberville senior quarterback/athlete Jaden Walley, who verbally committed to Mississippi State this week. He also held offers from Ole Miss, Arkansas and Auburn.
Walley could fill a variety of roles at MSU, but appears set to play receiver on the college level.
On Friday night, he will try to carve up the Picayune defense from the quarterback position.
In Larry Dolan’s first game as the D’Iberville head coach, the Warriors proved to be stout on defense, holding the JDCHS to 104 yards total — 103 on the ground.
The Warriors will take a step up in competition against a Picayune squad that will be playing its first game of the season.
Picayune turns out 2,000-yard rushers with ease each season and senior running back Cameron Thomas may be the one carrying the load this year.
The Maroon Tide will operate in the spotlight all season with Dodd Lee set to end his legendary head coaching career at the end of the season, and it’s hard to see his players falling flat in his final season opener as a head coach.
My pick — Picayune 28, D’Iberville 24.
Here are the rest of my picks for Friday night’s games on the Coast:
Biloxi 24, Gautier 21: The Gators came out swinging to start the season, thrashing Vancleave 49-7. Senior running back Jordan Irving had 315 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns — one receiving, one rushing and two on kickoff returns. The Gators are playing with a freshman quarterback in Kaden Irving, who stands 6-foot-1, 215 pounds. He completed five of 11 passes for 90 yards and a TD last week versus Vancleave. On Friday, he’ll face a significantly tougher Biloxi defense led by senior linebacker Anthony Course.
Bay High 27, Purvis 20: After taking down West Harrison 42-30 in the opener, the Tigers have a shot at moving to 2-0 in Eric Collins’ first season as head coach. The Tigers have won more than one game just once since 2016 — a 2-8 mark that season.
Greene County 14, George County 13: The Rebels were in good shape to move to 1-0 a week ago after going up 16-0 in the second quarter at West Jones, before falling 24-16. Once the dam breaks for the George County offense, the Rebels will be a handful this season.
Gulfport 31, Northwest Rankin 17: A year ago, Northwest Rankin was 11-2 and perfect in region play. Last week, the Cougars fell 43-7 at Oxford. Gulfport senior quarterback Dawson Malley looked like the real deal in a win over Stone High last week, completing 11 of 13 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown in just a half of action.
Hancock 20, Meridian 17: This game falls in the coin’s toss category with Hancock and Meridian both sitting at 1-0. Both teams are coming off underwhelming seasons, but Hancock may be in better position to make the biggest leap this season due to a strong offensive line.
Petal 28, Harrison Central 21: The Red Rebels played well on defense last week in a 21-14 win over East Central, but Petal piled up 431 yards on the ground last week in a 38-15 win over Hattiesburg.
Pascagoula 28, Ocean Springs 17: The Panthers appear to have taken a step forward on offense after rushing 55 times for 448 yards in last week’s 33-26 win over Moss Point. Jacoryn Walker accounted for 210 yards and all three touchdowns on the ground.
St. Martin 37, Moss Point 27: It’s fair to say that Moss Point (0-1) traditionally plays the toughest non-region schedule in South Mississippi and that will continue Friday night against a St. Martin team that showed off a strong offense in a 45-13 win over Forest Hill last week.
West Harrison 28, Vancleave 24: Both teams are looking for a rebound after falling in Week 1. Vancleave won 37-14 over the Hurricanes a year ago.
Poplarville 35, Pearl River Central 17: Poplarville (0-1) suffered a tough luck loss to Laurel in the opener, but don’t expect the Hornets to be down for long. Poplarville seniorrunning back Chase Shears has a good shot at topping his 10-rush, 147-yard performance against the Blue Devils.
St. Stanlislaus 38, Long Beach 17: No team on the Coast may be on a more upward trajectory than the Rockachaws (1-0) at the moment. The pieces are in place on both sides of the ball for St. Stanislaus to make a run at a Region 8-4A title. Senior running back Brandon Bordelon ran the ball just three times for 49 yards and a touchdown last week. He’ll see a lot more touches in the weeks ahead.
Pass Christian 31, Forrest County AHS 21: Pass Christian senior quarterback Dustin Allison got off to a promising in the 42-27 win over Long Beach last week, completing 14 of 20 passes for 310 yards and five touchdowns. He also ran 11 times for 54 yards.
Seminary 21, Stone High 14: Stone High has a tough run headed into the start of Region 7-4A competition and Seminary has turned into a 3A juggernaut.
St. Patrick 20, Sacred Heart 17: This will be the season opener for both teams. St. Patrick beat Sacred Heart 39-21 in 2018.
Resurrection 13, North Forrest 10: This will mark the season opener and the debut of Lavon Capers as the RCS head coach. Scott Sisson built a winning tradition at the Pascagoula school and he provides a tough act to follow.
This story was originally published August 29, 2019 at 3:08 PM.
