PREP ROUNDUP: Wells scores 5 TDs as Moss Point stuns North Pike to advance
Moss Point 62, North Pike 51: Junior Omni Wells rushed for five touchdowns as Moss Point pulled off its second consecutive upset victory in the postseason after winning at West Lauderdale the last week.
The win means Moss Point will host St. Stanislaus at 7 p.m. on Friday in the third round. SSC won the previous meeting between the two teams, 44-14, in Bay St. Louis.
Travis Marion also had a big night on the ground for the Tigers with three rushing touchdowns.
Moss Point (7-5) jumped out to a 20-0 lead and had to hold off the high-scoring Jaguars to advance.
"I think we started off pretty good running the football," Moss Point coach Willie Brown said. "We had to keep scoring to keep them from scoring. We just had to keep up them. It was wild. The game was never really over until the final whistle."
The final score of the night for Moss Point was a 58-yard return of a North Pike onside kick by Anthony Kirkland with 1:26 remaining.
"I think we're starting to believe in each other," Brown said. "We've just got to keep grinding."
Lawrence County 26, East Central 20: Lawrence County ended East Central's season with a double-overtime victory in Monticello.
The game was tied 14-14 at the end of regulation, but the Hornets came one touchdown shy of keeping the game alive in the second overtime.
East Central's season ends with a 7-5 record.
Lawrence County will travel to Vancleave in the third round of the playoffs.
Vancleave 20, Purvis 17: Vancleave continued its winning ways Friday by holding on for a thrilling win over Purvis in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.
The Bulldogs (7-7) went ahead with just over three minutes remaining when senior kicker Taylor Crabtree booted a 33-yard field goal. Crabtree also converted a 42-yard field goal earlier in the game.
"It's huge. He's a great weapon and a great guy to have on the sideline," Vancleave coach Lavon Capers said. "Knowing you can open your playbook up because you have a reliable kicker is big. He's a guy who has come through and delivered time and time again here."
Cade Posey set up the late kick with a 60-yard run.
After the field goal, the Bulldogs' defense held firm. With the Tornadoes running out of time and facing fourth-and-2, junior Mitchell Rhea broke through Purvis' offensive line and tackled the ball carrier to effectively end the game.
"He's getting blocked, reaches out with one hand and takes the running back down," Capers said.
Dylon Mallette paced Vancleave's scoring early, scoring on runs of 1 and 12 yards. He finished with 84 yards. Posey led the team with 121 yards on 12 carries.
Capers credited the Bulldogs' ability to execute the basics for their win.
"We didn't turn the ball over at all -- zero -- and of course in playoff football that's big," he said. "Turnovers have been our nemesis all year. We cleaned that up and are playing a lot cleaner than we did earlier in the year. I think if we play up to our potential we can play with people. Purvis is a dang good football team."
VHS advances to face Lawrence County, which up-ended East Central 26-20 in double overtime.
Because Lawrence County has hosted the first two rounds, the Cougars will travel to Vancleave.
Wayne County 58, Picayune 28: Despite 226 yards rushing and a touchdown from Josh Littles, Picayune (5-7) was eliminated from the 5A state playoffs. Blake Merrifield added a 9 yard TD run, David Baker scored from a yard out. Jackson Samples kicked field goals of 31 and 23 yards.
Reggie Stewart threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns for the War Eagles, who travel to Pearl River Central in round two next week.Freddy Jordan had 127 yards rushing, scoring on TD runs of 35, 13 and 50 yards.
This story was originally published November 14, 2015 at 12:08 AM with the headline "PREP ROUNDUP: Wells scores 5 TDs as Moss Point stuns North Pike to advance ."