‘It felt brutal.’ Picayune’s Dodd Lee spitting fire as he wins his way to retirement.
Picayune head coach Dodd Lee pounded a finger against his chest as he laid into his team Friday night at Lee-Triplett Stadium.
Even though many of his players jumped and shouted for joy as they gathered for the post-game speech, the head coach in his 24th and final season with the Maroon Tide greeted them with his trademark glare.
“That’s the way to come back and battle in the second half, but it’s my job to have you ready to play,” Lee said, his voice shaking from emotion and a night spent shouting at players and assistants. “Well, I apologize to you because I didn’t have you ready to play. I’m embarrassed about it.”
The legendary head coach may not have been pleased with the product on the field Friday night, but his Maroon Tide (13-0) are still playing in the Class 5A playoffs after beating Laurel 42-28.
Next up for Picayune is a long anticipated matchup with the only other undefeated team remaining in Class 5A, West Jones. The game will take place in Soso after the Mustangs (13-0) toppled Wayne County 33-27 in overtime to advance.
A year ago, West Jones beat Picayune 21-13 in the Class 5A South State title game to advance to the state championship contest.
Lee is retiring at the end of the season, but his passion for the game has not waned. When he’s less than satisfied with his team, he’s happy to share it with his players.
“I thought they gave more effort than we did,” he said. “When the other team gives more effort that is so disheartening to me. (Laurel RB/QB Xavier Evans) controlled the game in the first half. We didn’t tackle him well. He played with more heart than anybody on our team and this game is won by heart and the burning desire to win.
“We didn’t show it in the first half. I thought in the second half, we fought and they wore down a little bit. But we got tired. I can’t believe we’re tired in the 13th game of the year. We’re just going to have to toughen up and get ready and go.”
His players admit that Lee expects a blowout victory every Friday night.
“That’s the plan. Coach don’t like if they score at all,” senior safety Chad Dudenhefer said. “It don’t matter if it’s 63-7, he doesn’t like it. He doesn’t like for them to get a first down.
“I don’t blame him for being frustrated. We played bad in the first half. It was our fault. We weren’t prepared. We’re going to get back at it next week though.”
Picayune senior running back Cameron Thomas proved to again be the workhorse, carrying 36 times for 294 yards and four touchdowns, including a 12-yarder with 1:31 remaining to close out the victory.
Thomas, who cleared 3,000 yards rushing for the season on Friday, wasn’t at 100 percent health, and fought through what he described as a rolled ankle.
“He was tired,” Lee said with a slight grin. “He might have been bruised up a little bit, but that’s football if you’re a running back. We’ve got to dig deep, find one more great effort or it’ll be over with.”
The 36 carries by Thomas set a career high, topping a 29-rush, 343-yard performance at Gulfport on Sept. 13.
Even he was a little surprised when he was told how many times he toted the ball.
“That’s a lot,” Thomas said. “It felt brutal. I went through a lot. I’m just going to ice it, recover and we’ll be good for next week.”
For the first nine minutes of game action, it appeared that Picayune was ready to roll over Laurel.
Picayune marched 96 yards on 10 plays on its first possession, taking a 7-0 lead on an 8-yard touchdown run by Thomas at the 4:53 mark of the first quarter.
Laurel (10-3) fumbled the ball back on the ensuing kickoff, setting up the Maroon Tide for a scoring drive of 31 yards. Senior Kade Turnage finished off the four-play possession with a 19-yard run up the middle, putting the Maroon Tide ahead 14-0 with 3:19 left in the second quarter.
Laurel responded. Junior quarterback Dexter Scott hit Kanarius Johnson on a pair of touchdown passes and Evans ran for a 14-yard TD with 1:49 left in the first half to tie the game at 21-21 at halftime.
With 2:53 left in the third quarter, Evans gave the Golden Tornadoes their first lead at 28-21 after he pulled off an improbable run up the middle where he broke numerous tackles on his way to a 5-yard TD
Evans finished the game with 16 carries for 147 yards, but it was Thomas who had the final say, scoring all three touchdowns for Picayune in the second half.
“It came down to who wanted it more,” Thomas said. “If Coach Lee preaches it, we’ve just got to do it.”
This story was originally published November 22, 2019 at 11:23 PM.
