Former South MS high school football power rising again, chasing a return to playoffs
Josh Ladner doesn’t mind if anyone is still sleeping on his Warriors.
That was the message the D’Iberville head coach had for his team following a 35-7 home pounding of Wayne County on Friday.
“They’re not expecting anything from you,” Ladner told his post-game huddle about the regional opponents that lie ahead on the schedule. D’Iberville (3-2) has a winning record for the first time in Ladner’s three-year tenure and is working back toward the standard and expectation of the storied program.
The Warriors are coming off back-to-back seasons without a playoff trip for the first time since 2003-04. In between were 16 postseason appearances in 17 years, four district championships and a South State title.
Ladner knows firsthand what the standard is, having played on the 2002 state title team and serving as an assistant during Larry Dolan’s highly successful three-year tenure, and is proud of the steps his team has taken to get back to what that is.
“I think we’re close, I’m not going to say we’re there yet,” Ladner told the Sun Herald. “We’ve got to be able to compete with our district and that’s what’s up next. D’Iberville’s expectations are to win the district and compete for a state championship and I’m not going to stop fighting until we reach that point.”
Team turnaround
D’Iberville was 2-3 at this point last year against the same schedule and 1-3 before district play the season before. Last year’s team saw the fewest points scored by the Warriors since 2010 and the most points allowed in school history.
For the upperclassmen that aren’t far removed from D’Iberville’s 10-win 2021 campaign, the past couple of years have only served as extra motivational fuel.
“It made us play with a chip on our shoulders,” senior running back Andre Crosby said. “We feel like we all have something to prove.”
“It really changed our mindset,” added junior offensive lineman Caleb Gollott. “We don’t want to miss the playoffs ever again.”
The chip D’Iberville carried into the season would claim its first victim in Columbia. The Warriors turned last year’s blowout loss at the hands of the Wildcats into a 51-15 drubbing to open the season and set the tone.
D’Iberville then avenged a blowout loss to Gautier with a 31-15 thumping and followed that up by putting a scare into state power Picayune and holding an explosive Pascagoula offense to its season low in scoring.
Crosby and Gollott are a crucial part of the success the Warriors have enjoyed through the first half and are two key cogs in a machine with many parts operating within the run-heavy offense.
There are four players over 100 yards rushing and Crosby leads the way with 457 yards and four touchdowns.
“They’re a great group of guys, but more importantly they’re a great group of leaders led by Andre Crosby,” Ladner said of his running back stable and its prize horse. “He’s been my senior guy. He’s stuck with me and he gets everybody lined up.
“The key there is that (the running backs) are selfless. They block for each other and that makes them dangerous. They don’t care who gets the football and that’s really what makes them versatile.”
That selflessness was on display against Wayne County when five different Warriors scored the team’s five touchdowns.
Three of those were the responsibility of Jordan Walley, who threw touchdown passes to Malakai Knight and Keilan Stepter and rushed for his own 52-yard score.
Walley — who also plays cornerback and has an interception this season — only recently took over the role as starting quarterback and the sophomore adds his own flare to the offense.
“He has a tremendous amount of maturity beyond his years,” Ladner said. “He’s very versatile, can do it all. He’s special, he’s going to be very special.”
Night and day defense
While the experience and athleticism of his offense has been a boon, Ladner points to the other side of the line of scrimmage as the catalyst of the season’s turnaround.
D’Iberville is allowing just 16.6 points per game after giving up 36.4 points a contest a year ago. New defensive coordinator Neil Broussard has energized the unit and the results have been immediate and head-turning, but not surprising to those in-house.
“We knew they were going to be like this all off season,” Crosby said.
The Warriors shut out Wayne County for three quarters and the War Eagles — who lost by one score to George County and poured 48 on Greene County — only dented the scoreboard in the final moments against Warrior reserves.
“(The defense) has made huge strides since last year,” Ladner said. “Coach Broussard brought in a great system. He knows how to teach, he’s got command of it and the kids have bought in 100 percent.”
D’Iberville will get to put that defense to the test the moment Region 4-7A begins next week when it hosts Ocean Springs. The Warriors follow that game up at Gulfport, pitting themselves against the perceived top two teams in the region to open the important part of the calendar.
“Our district is tough, top to bottom,” Ladner said. “Ocean Springs and Gulfport have been the top dogs the last several years so let’s go ahead and test ourselves and see where we’re at. It’s going to be fun.”
D’Iberville has lost three in a row to the Greyhounds and have given up at least 40 points in each of those matchups.
The present day Warriors are eager to prove showcase their growth within district, one opponent at a time.
“We’re not the same D’Iberville from one or two years ago,” Crosby said. “We’re taking it week by week, 1-0 every week.”
This story was originally published October 5, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
