Picayune football, behind stout defense, routs Gautier 49-14 to earn title game return
Chants of “We’re going back!” could be heard on the Picayune sideline as the seconds melted off the clock of a 49-14 runaway win over Gautier in the South State championship game.
The reigning 5A title-holders outscored the Gators 28-0 in the second half, spurred by a back-breaking eight-minute touchdown drive to open the third quarter.
Oregon commit Dante Dowdell rushed for 274 yards and found the end zone five times while Picayune’s defense picked off U.S. Army Bowl All-American Kaden Irving four times.
“It’s amazing because we knew we had the bull’s-eye on our back going into the beginning of the year,” Picayune coach Cody Stogner told the Sun Herald. “Just to be able to get back here, we had to fight through some adversity this here with players getting nicked up, players getting hurt.
“It’s a culmination of everything, all the hard work. From January to the summertime, to the hot days in August. The kids believing in the game plan and fighting every second for 48 minutes. It’s the greatest feeling in the world, but we’re not done yet. We know we have another challenge ahead of us.”
It was a much-anticipated rematch from the district title game, where Picayune outlasted the Gators 48-42 in overtime.
The second time around went much differently. Gautier turned the ball over three times in the first half and failed to move the ball across midfield over the final 24 minutes of the game.
“It started at the beginning of the week, we knew it was going to be on us,” Picayune defensive lineman Jamonta Waller said. “If we got to him, then (Irving) was going to be uncomfortable. They really thought they could play with us, but stuff runs through Picayune, baby.”
Waller was a force throughout the night, terrorizing Irving with a sack, multiple pressures, a pass deflection and an interception.
His defense backed up an offense that scored every touchdown on the ground, including runs of 31, 76, 28 and 30 yards.
“We just had a better defensive scheme and a better offensive scheme,” Dowdell said of his team’s starkly-contrasting performance from their first meeting with Gautier. “We executed better, not putting the ball on the ground, not jumping offsides and not getting too many flags.”
“(The first game) got us prepared,” Waller said. “That was our worst game, that was their best game. That’s why we’re champs.”
Picayune protected the football and played a full game without a turnover for the first time all season. It also schematically altered its defense and put an extra defensive back on the field to counter the Gators’ air raid attack.
Its reward will be a date with another familiar opponent in North State champion West Point, who is in the state title game for the seventh straight season. Picayune defeated the Green Wave, 40-21, to claim the 5A championship last December.
The rematch will be played at M.M. Roberts Stadium next Friday, and is scheduled to kickoff at 7 p.m.
South Mississippi sent two other teams to South State, as well, both of which fell short of the final playoff contest. Ocean Springs lost to Brandon on a game-winning field goal in the 6A bracket, while Stone dropped the 4A battle with Mendenhall.
