East Central football pitches second half shutout in Pascagoula River Bowl win
The streak rolls on for East Central.
The Hornets crossed the swamps of Southeast Mississippi and downed their archrival Vancleave in a blow-for-blow, 28-21 win.
The teams combined to score seven touchdowns in the first half, and they pitched dueling shutouts in the second half, with each team fumbling away a late fourth-quarter scoring chance.
The Bulldogs attempted to lateral their way to the end zone in the game’s final moments, but the 50-second-long play ended with the ball rolling into a raucous ECHS sideline.
“It feels great, it’s a blessing to be a part of so many (Pascagoula River Bowls),” Hornet coach Sam Huff said after the game. “To me, it doesn’t feel any different. We just enjoy the win. The kids fought hard tonight. Got to to give Vancleave a ton of respect, those kids fought their guts out.”
The win makes seven in a row for ECHS over Vancleave in a series the Bulldogs are still leading by three games. This marks the third straight year the contest was decided by a single score.
“It feels amazing,” East Central’s Grey Bradley said. “We work so hard for this game every year. It was about who wanted it most. We fought our hardest.”
Bradley was named the game’s MVP after being responsible for three of the Hornets TDs. Bradley found the end zone on runs of 5, 35 and 48 yards.
Each score came immediately after, or was immediately followed by a Bulldog touchdown.
“We were moving the ball good in the first half, and unfortunately, they were, too,” Huff said.
Neither team found much success in the second half. Vancleave’s best drive in the final two quarters had the Bulldogs closing in on the red zone when a bad snap careened into the backfield and came to a stop in the arms of an East Central defensive lineman.
Vancleave running back and South Mississippi’s leading rusher John Peterson picked up 197 rushing yards, but found the end zone just once. Quarterback Hunter Parker ran for 105 yards and two scores, including a 52-yard run.
“We’re proud of our defense every game,” Bradley said. “They play hard, they dominate.”
“(East Central) is arguably right there with Picayune for the best defense in the league,” Vancleave coach Kevin Fant said.
The win gives the Hornets momentum heading into their ninth straight playoff appearance. East Central hasn’t won a playoff game since 2018, though, and will have to turn the page quickly after an emotionally and physically taxing game.
“We’ll come back to work Monday and put a great game plan together,” Huff said. “Hopefully, we don’t have to get up for it. It’s the first round of the playoffs and we want to send a message that we want to keep playing.”
Vancleave will also be returning to the playoffs after putting together its first seven-win regular season since 2010.
“It’s 0-0 right now,” Fant said. “We’ll soak this up a little bit and we’ll move on.”
The south side of the 5A playoff bracket will be set following the outcome of Laurel vs. Hattiesburg on Saturday.
This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 11:48 PM.
