Picayune has a plan to clinch the 5A state title. Their powerhouse trio holds the key.
A Coastal power is set to run into the state’s standard-bearer in the finale to the 2021 5A football season.
The Picayune Maroon Tide returns to the final stage for the first time under Cody Stogner and just two years removed from their last trip to Hattiesburg in 2019.
Picayune will face off against powerhouse West Point on Saturday night, the same opponent who beat the Maroon Tide in the playoffs two years ago.
The Maroon Tide had their offense ground to a halt in the second half by the Green Wave that night, leading to a 38-26 West Point victory.
Now it’s time for the rematch.
Picayune’s opponent has won six state championships under head coach Chris Chambless and has found its recipe for success with the same plan every year: hard running from a bevy of weapons and gripping defense.
“They’re the class of football in Mississippi regardless of classification,” Stogner said. “They expect to be in this game and win it.”
The Maroon Tide is the last team from the Coast to win a championship when they took down Oxford for the title in 2013. Many players remain on the roster from the 2019 run at the title, including star running back Dante Dowdell.
“We always talked about going back to the state championship,” Dowdell said. “We lost in the first round of the playoff last year so that made us want to invest even more in getting to the championship.”
The similarities between the two teams are hard to miss. Both offenses have ran for over 4,000 yards this season with multiple backs carrying the workload.
Dowdell leads the way for the Maroon Tide with 2,406 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns. He is the centerpiece of a three-headed ground attack that includes Chris Davis and Darnell Smith.
The trio is going up against a defense that has allowed just 11.4 points per game this year. Of the 11 opponents West Point has played, only two have reached 20 points.
For Stogner, that doesn’t change the game plan. Picayune will keep the ball on the ground and roll with the hot hand on offense, just as it has all season.
“We just got to continue to keep getting better at what we do,” Stogner said. “Dante is our workhorse. We don’t really go into a game plan with who is getting how many carries, we just go with the flow of the game.”
The simple plan is easy to buy into for the players, especially when its carried the Maroon Tide this far.
“We’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing,” Dowdell said. “We don’t want to change anything. We’re just going to play Picayune football.”
Protecting the football will be key for the Maroon Tide after multiple fumbles stunted the offense in last week’s win against Laurel.
“Two turnovers kind of hurt us a little bit,” Stogner said. “We’ve got to take care of the football. We’ve got to limit big plays.”
West Point will be ready with years of program success behind it and a roster full of players with plenty of championship level experience.
That doesn’t concern Stogner, who believes his team is up for the task.
“If we continue to play our game I think we can stack up against anybody,” Stogner said. “It’s going to be a challenge, it’s going to be a fight. It’s going to take all 48 minutes of great effort.”
Picayune and West Point are scheduled to kick off inside M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg on Saturday at 7 p.m. with the state title on the line.
This story was originally published December 1, 2021 at 5:50 AM.
