Ocean Springs hangs on in jamboree win over Gautier, but the Gators walk away excited
The Gautier Gators have plenty of reason for optimism after Friday’s jamboree clash with Ocean Springs.
The Greyhounds are one of the top teams in the state and did not lose a regular season game in 2021. They needed a touchdown with 25 seconds left to hold off Gautier, though, escaping with a 14-13 win.
The Gators are coming off a 7-5 season out of Region 4-5A. Head coach Marc High’s team shares a district with the reigning 5A state champions in Picayune. The preseason battle with nearby Ocean Springs gave Gautier a chance to see another title contender before the real games begin.
“Going against a top five team in the state, there’s a reason they’re a top five team,” High said following the game. “They’re a good team. At Gautier we want to play the best, so that’s what we’re going to do.”
Gautier held the lead up until the final moments of the ball game when 6A Mr. Football Bray Hubbard hit sophomore running back Will Smith in the endzone for the go-ahead score.
Ready for anyone
Gator quarterback and Ole Miss baseball commit Kaden Irving led two touchdown drives and capped them both himself. Irving scored on a QB power run at the goal line to finish a drive that featured multiple big runs by the senior.
In the second half, Irving executed a dazzling escape from pressure and fired a rocket into the arms of Marcus Cunningham, who took the catch 25 yards upfield and into the endzone.
“Just trying to make plays happen, that’s my main thing,” Irving said. “If there’s not something there, I’m going to try and make something.”
Outside of a bad snap that turned the ball over to the Greyhounds, Gautier had little trouble moving the football in the short, 24-minute game.
Ocean Springs’ aggressive defensive front did cause its typical havoc in the backfield and the Gators are currently without starting offensive lineman Brandon Davis, but Irving was more than satisfied with how his unit responded to the challenge.
“Today we definitely showed that we can compete with anybody in the state,” Irving said. “We came out there and lost by an extra point, that shows a lot about the goals we got for Gautier right now.”
Gautier will kick off its regular season next Friday at Provine.
Hitting the film
Ocean Springs looked like itself on offense Friday. Head coach Blake Pennock got a two-touchdown performance out of his Alabama football commit in Hubbard and an impressive showing from Smith, who made plays both on the ground and as a pass-catcher.
“Will Smith played pretty well for his first big action,” Pennock said. “He’s a young back... hasn’t played a lot of varsity snaps. I thought he ran pretty well. He made a huge catch right there at the end on a wheel route. He adjusted his body and came down with it. He’ll just continue to get better.”
The Greyhound offense did have a few sloppy moments, including a botched handoff, that Pennock noted as “coachable moments.” But it was on the other side of the field where he’s hoping to see more improvement.
“Obviously not as good as we wanted to do, but that’s why we I scheduled (Gautier),” Pennock said. “Because we won’t see a passing attack like that all season long until we get deep into the playoffs. A good test for us... we have a lot of things to correct.”
In the middle of the Ocean Springs defense is defensive lineman-turned-linebacker Keshawn Thomas and a transfer in Eric Moore, Jr. The two put up big numbers last year and are both Preseason All-South Mississippi players, but they’re in new territory in 2022.
They join junior edge rusher Trace Carter in the attacking 3-4 scheme to form arguably the most talented trio of linebackers on the Coast. According to Carter, there’s work to be done if they hope to play up to their potential.
“We have a lot of small things we need to work on and we need to work together more as a team,” Carter said. “I think we have the talent to be the best defense in the state, but if we’re not working together then it’s not going to be all right. I feel like it was a bad game, to be honest. We played poorly. We didn’t execute everything, we didn’t run to the ball, pursuit the ball. We’ll just get back in the lab over the week and get ready for Clinton.”
Ocean Springs opens its regular season next week with a Thursday night contest at Clinton.
