Picayune pounds Pascagoula 38-0 to earn its third straight trip to South State
The back-to-back reigning champs are one step closer to their goal of a three-peat.
Picayune hosted and thumped the Pascagoula Panthers in the second round of the 6A playoffs, 38-0, to clinch a third straight appearance in the South State title game.
Quarterback Brady Robertson threw two rare touchdown passes for coach Cody Stogner’s ground-and-pound offense and four different Maroon Tide running backs found the end zone.
All five touchdowns came in the first half, forcing a running clock throughout the a second half that only saw a 36-yard field goal by Morgan Craft.
“It feels great, man, this is what you work for to get to,” Stogner said after the game. “To get an opportunity to go play a really good football team with a chance to make it to the last game of the year. Our guys made it their goal to get back to this game to give us an opportunity.”
The win earned Picayune its fifth 10-win season in past six years and improved Stogner to 47-6 since taking over the program in 2020.
It also earned Stogner and the Tide their 10th straight playoff victory, a stat the head man was unaware of.
“All the credit goes to those players and the coaching staff,” Stogner said. “These players buy in to what (the coaches) are selling. We’re really blessed to have some good players wearing the Maroon and Gray.”
Friday’s meeting was a rematch of the Tide’s 51-14 regular-season win over the Panthers. Similar to last year’s postseason rematch with Gautier that ended with a 49-14 stomping of the Gators, the second time around was all Maroon.
According to Stogner, reaching South State was the player’s goal in its first season without current Oregon Duck Dante Dowdell at running back since the championship run began in 2021.
“It’s another accomplishment that we had at the beginning of the year to get done and we got it done,” 6A Mr. Football winner and Auburn commit Jamonta Waller said. “The job’s not finished.”
Offense, defense dominate
Picayune has relied on a running back by committee approach this season due to starting back Chris Davis missing a chunk of the season due to injury.
That prepared the Maroon Tide for Friday when Davis — who scored once on a 12-yard run in the second quarter — was ejected from the game before halftime for drawing two unsportsmanlike penalties.
“We’re really lucky to have the three type of caliber running backs that we have in Chris (Davis), Niquis (Ratcliff) and Darrell (Smith) and even our fullback Jeremiah (Contee),” Stogner said. “Just dynamic what the bring to the game. They compete for each other and they also cheer for each other. It really goes a long way for where our team is right now.”
Ratcliff scored twice during the evening, once to open the game with a seven-yard jaunt and then on a three-yard fourth and goal catch in the second quarter.
Contee caught a 35-yard touchdown pass on a crafty play-action pass and Smith scored from 21 yards out.
“We got a stacked backfield so we split the carries a lot,” Ratcliff said. “We all got skill and we’re all capable of doing the stuff we do.”
The defense also showed out by dominating the line of scrimmage and keeping an explosive Panther offense off the scoreboard.
Picayune forced a pair of turnovers on downs and Pascagoula quarterback Silas Corder was intercepted twice by Brandon Parker and Robert Williams.
“We’re all a family on the defensive side,” Waller said. “We all hold each other accountable. We want the best for each other, we push each and we just come to work.”
The machine moves forward
Picayune has been one of the more successful schools in the state over the last decade, though its run of dominance will be put to the test against a West Jones team that has pitched six shutouts this season and hasn’t lost since meeting the Maroon Tide in the second round of the 5A playoffs last year.
“We’re going to fight to the end,” Waller said. “We’re not going down without a fight.”
“We’re hungry,” Ratcliff added. “We’re just trying to make history.”
Stogner has found success and sustainability through all the winning by hitting the reset button after each victory. The Maroon Tide will have to do just that against a team seeking revenge in a rematch that’s a year in the making.
The senior leadership on the roster will also play a significant role over the next several days as the team uses the upcoming break from school to focus on football.
“The good thing for us is that we have a lot of experience with guys who have been in this situation and have practiced during Thanksgiving week,” Stogner said. “There’s no better time than practice during Thanksgiving week. It’s nothing but football... These guys have been here and they’ve done it. They know it’s going to be a tall task and it’s not going to be easy.”
Picayune will travel to West Jones to face the Mustangs for a South State championship and a spot in the 6A state title game.
