Prep Football Roundup: Pascagoula sets off a wild celebration with an overtime win
The Pascagoula High School football team’s season kept rolling in the Class 5A playoffs Friday night, sealing a 35-32 victory over Hattiesburg with an overtime field goal by sophomore kicker Caden Chisholm.
The Panthers (8-4) will now host West Jones (11-2) in the 5A South State title game on Friday.
When Chisholm saw his 33-yard kick easily split the uprights, he turned the other direction and sprinted toward midfield.
He was followed by the rest of his teammates.
“Bedlam ensued. All I could see was him running,” Pascagoula coach Lewis Sims said.
The Panthers are in the Class 5A South State title game for the first time since 2012, which also happens to be the last time they made a trip to the state championship contest.
Friday’s game was especially triumphant moment for a group of seniors that didn’t have an easy path to get to this point. They were 0-7 as seventh-graders and 1-10 as sophomores on the varsity level.
“This year, they earned their way to the South State championship,” Sims said. “It’s a testament to their journey. They’re a unique group of guys that steadily trusted the process. They’ve taken coaching and they’ve pushed themselves to be as good as they can be. I couldn’t be more proud of this group.”
The final moments of regulation proved to be somewhat chaotic.
After stripping Pascagoula sophomore quarterback Keilon Parnell, Hattiesburg worked the 2-minute drill to perfection, getting in the end zone on a 5-yard run by Jaquez Andrew to take the lead at 32-29 with 29 seconds remaining.
After getting the ball near their own 42 following a nice kickoff return by Antonio Sanford, Pascagoula pushed the ball to midfield on the next play.
On the next snap, the Panthers called a reverse pass that resulted in a 32-yard toss from T.J. Goodwin to Brennen Grubbs at the Hattiesburg 18.
Goodwin, the backup quarterback, was on the spot with the throw.
“He hadn’t thrown the ball in three days, but he went out there cold and just threw a rocket,” Sims said.
Chisholm booted through a 35-yard field goal as time expired to send the game into overtime.
Hattiesburg didn’t get anything out of its first possession in overtime with Pascagoula sacking quarterback Jordan Willis on fourth down.
Sims didn’t hesitate to go to his kicker when his team took over in overtime, capping off a frantic finish for both teams.
“It was an emotional roller coaster. It was living on the edge,” Sims said.
Pascagoula’s main weapon on offense was senior running back Kayvon Barnes, who ran 18 times for 117 yards and one touchdown.
“He ran like a Sherman tank,” Sims said.
Another senior, Keonta Steward, ran nine times for 49 yards and two touchdowns.
Poplarville 62, South Pike 6
The Hornets (9-3) jumped out to a 41-6 lead at halftime and pulled off the most lopsided victory in the state Friday night in Summit.
Poplarville got the ball rolling when Mason Anderson picked off a pass on North Pike’s opening drive, helping set up a 2-yard touchdown run by D.J. Richardbey to put the Hornets up 6-0 just 4 minutes into the game.
The Hornets mostly did as they pleased on the ground in the first half, but they also mixed in in a nice pass play when Nate Anderson threw deep to connect with senior Gregory Swann for a 53-yard touchdown toss to make it 27-0 with 10 minutes to go in the first half.
Tyron Holston and Richardbey tacked on two more rushing scores in the second quarter to leave little doubt of the outcome.
Poplarville will host Mendenhall for the Class 4A South State title, marking the fifth consecutive season that the Hornets have made it this far.
Mendenhall (6-3) advanced Friday night with a 26-19 win over Sumrall.
Oak Grove 41, Harrison Central 14
Harrison Central senior receiver Jacobi Moore turned in one of his biggest games of the season, but it wasn’t enough to take down the No. 1 team in the state.
Moore, a Mississippi State commit, had seven receptions for 204 yards and a touchdown.
Harrison Central sophomore quarterback Christian Turner completed 14 of 29 attempts for 285 yards and one touchdown.
Oak Grove (11-0) has reached the South State title game for the third consecutive season and will host Northwest Rankin (9-3) on Friday.
Harrison Central’s season comes to a close with a record of 8-3.
This story was originally published November 21, 2020 at 1:09 AM.
