D’IBERVILLE — All it took was a visit from an old friendly face to cure D’Iberville’s early season woes Friday night.
After an 0-3 start to the year, the home-standing Warriors took their first lead of the season against visiting Pascagoula early in the game at Buddy Singleton Field and then out-scored the Panthers 20-7 in the second half to pull out a 34-22 win.
The win not only was the first of the season for DHS, but the Warriors also extended their winning streak over Pascagoula to six straight games in the past eight years.
Kevin Rogers scored four touchdowns in the big win for the Warriors. “It feels good to get that first win, especially against a strong team like Pascagoula,” DHS second year head coach Josh Ladner said. “I was proud of the players and the coaches, because they didn’t let the way we started the season get to them and they never quit or gave up and they saw through ll of it and found a way to overcome it.”
The Panthers, who fall to 3-1, were off to their first 3-0 start in a decade and were shooting for their first 4-0 start since making a run to the state championship game in 2011.
The Warriors trailed by a point at 15-14 at halftime, before taking command in the second half. D’Iberville got the third quarter kick and Rogers moved his team in front at 21-15 with a 35-yard run less than two minutes into the second half.
Pascagoula’s last gasp came minutes later, when quarterback Silas Corder hit Jahkobian Maye on a quick 10-yard slant at mid-field and he turned it into a 61-yard scoring strike to put PHS up again at 22-21.
From there, it was all Warriors, however.
Andre Crosby returned serve with just over two minutes left in the third frame, as he raced 60 yards untouched on a draw through the middle of the Panther defense to put DHS back up 27-22 entering the final quarter.
Then, Rogers went back to work sealing the Warrior win with a 3-yard scoring jaunt with 2:23 to play. Jayln Baker recovered on ensuring sky kick that was a key play as well. “That’s just Warrior football, that late drive like that,” Ladner added. “The players said they could do it and they did.”
The first half was a back-and-forth affair that ended with the visitors up by a point going into halftime.
Pascagoula wasted no time at all in scoring first, as after receiving the opening kickoff Corder marched his Panthers 62 yards in two passing plays with the second one resulting in a 16-yard scoring strike to Bruce Fryfogle.
But the Warriors wasted little time in responding, taking their first possession promptly down the field and scoring on a 1-yard plunge by Rogers to put the home team up 7-6.
Just before the first frame ended, PHS retook the lead as Corder and Fryfogle hooked up once again this time on a 36-yard touchdown toss to put PHS up 12-7.
Just under three minutes into the second quarter, DHS quarterback Connor Jones hooked up with Rogers on a 37-yard scoring pass that returned the advantage to the Warriors at 14-12.
But the Panthers retaliated with a 32-yard field goal by Tank Bishop with 2:22 to go before intermission to move to that 15-14 lead at halftime and set the stage for the climactic second half.
Both teams collected interceptions in the final two minutes, as Pascagoula’s Tylan Wilson picked off Jones at midfield and then just seemingly seconds later D’Iberville’s A.J. Miles returned the favor to Corder.
“Pascagoula travels to Biloxi next week while DHS has an off week.
