Jacquez Alexander-Dedeaux scores three touchdowns in Pirates’ 41-12 win over Moss Point
The Pirates quickly righted the ship.
One week after dropping a critical region battle with Poplarville, Pass Christian (6-2, 2-1) kept itself in the race for a home playoff game with a 41-12 drubbing of the visiting Moss Point Tigers (1-7, 0-3).
Moss Point scored on the first play from scrimmage via 80-yard footrace won by Taboris Charles, but the Pirates scored the next 24 points and iced the game late in the third quarter with a 19-yard touchdown strike from Ladd Scriber to Terry Patton.
“I thought we bounced back,” Pass Christian coach Jeff Stockstill said after the game. “We played a tough team last week and had a disappointing end for us. I wasn’t sure if we were going to come out slow, but I thought we did what we were supposed to do. We got the job done.”
Junior running back Jacquez Alexander-Dedeaux found the end zone on the ground three times, all coming in the first half.
He’s now up to a career-high 16 touchdowns and the performance clinched his first career 1,000-yard season.
“A lot of durability,” Stockstill said of his workhorse. “We’ve had a lot of good games through the air, but he has consistently been a ground-gainer for us. He was there when we needed him tonight.”
Historic start for the offense
In Stockstill’s first season at the helm, the Pirates are outpacing every team that preceded them on the scoreboard.
Only one team from The Pass in the last 20 years has scored more points in a single season than this year’s group and that was Blake Pennock’s 2019 squad.
Pass Christian’s scoring output of 34.9 points a game is currently the best mark in school history.
“Discipline, we’re disciplined,” Patton said about the difference between now and a year ago. “We’re hungry, we run the scoreboard up. We want to win. Really, we want everybody to remember us.”
The combination of Alexander-Dedeaux’s presence in the backfield and Patton’s electric ability from the wide receiver position has benefited both playmakers and made life easier for Scriber at quarterback.
Patton has reached career-highs in total touchdowns and receiving yards, while Scriber has tossed a career-best 13 touchdowns.
“Come try to double me and bring a linebacker out there and we’re just going to run it,” Patton said. “Come get on the run game, then we’re going to throw it. We got more people than just me and (Alexander-Dedeaux). We got weapons, we got plenty of weapons.”
One of those auxiliary weapons, Anthony James, scored the Pirates’ first touchdown of the night with a 19-yard scamper around the edge.
The longtime connection between the players have also paid dividends, according to Stockstill.
“Those guys have played football together for a long time, going back to their peewee days,” Stockstill said. “They’ve been friends for a long time. It’s about those guys utilizing their strengths, understanding what they need to work on to get better and just showing up each day and being good friends and good teammates.”
Meeting expectations
Stockstill points to an elevated standard as the key to unlocking the potential of this talented Pirates team.
The Pirates need Poplarville to drop two unlikely games to have a shot at a district crown, but The Pass is remaining focused on itself and securing at least the still-important No. 2 seed out of Region 8-4A.
“The goal is to secure a home playoff game,” Stockstill said. “If someone can knock out Poplarville, we may still be alive for the 1-seed. But we’ve got to have blinders on and take care of what’s in front of us and take care of our business.”
Pass Christian is off next week and wraps up the regular season on the road against a high-scoring Bay High team.
Last season’s team dropped its last two district games and had to travel in the first round of the playoffs. One of the key differences this time around has been confidence and chemistry in the locker room.
“We’re brothers, man,” Patton said. “We want to push each other to be great. We love each other. We know what we want, we want to make an impact and we can make an impact.”
