Two perennial powerhouse teams with playoff aspirations find themselves in need of a win before beginning region play.
Picayune (2-2) travels to Ocean Springs (1-3) on Friday.
It hasn’t been the type of season either expected to this point.
Picayune lost its opener, won two straight and then got beat last week at home by Gulfport.
Ocean Springs lost its first three games of the season before knocking off Natchez last week.
Maroon Tide coach Cody Stogner said his team needed to regroup after getting blown out 41-21 by Gulfport.
He said practice has been good this week.
“We had to have a good talk amongst ourselves after last week’s game where we could’ve played so much better, but our coaches are continuing to find ways to get these guys better with two games left before district begins,” said Stogner.
Stogner said every game is a big game and this one is another chance to get better.
“We are just wanting to make sure that we are improving through this tough non-division schedule, to be prepared for a tough division stretch,” he said. “I think it will pay dividends for us.”
Ocean Springs’ Jake Bramlett has a similar mindset. The first-year Greyhounds coach said his team has learned some valuable lessons with the tough schedule the players have faced so far.
“We played in some close games against really good opponents with opportunities to win each one of those games and came up just short,” said Bramlett. “I feel really good about where this team is headed.”
He said his team is correcting the mistakes that cost the Greyhounds in their first three games.
“Nobody likes losing ballgames but sometimes it’s necessary in order to fix some issues that would cost you later in the season,” said Bramlett. “It was a lot of adversity to overcome, but our players answer the challenge during practice.”
In Ocean Springs’ 49-16 win over Natchez last week, Bramlett said his team made some changes offensively and finished drives with points.
“We started out fast and continued with that same momentum throughout the game,” said Bramlett, who added his team needs to improve in the passing game. “And defensively, we need to come away with some negative plays early in drives in order to get them off schedule.”
A year ago, Ocean Springs handed Picayune a 31-21 loss. It was one of just two regular-season defeats for the Maroon Tide.
Bramlett is impressed with Picayune, a team he said has also played a brutal non-region schedule.
“Offensively, they are always tough to handle,” said Bramlett. “It takes a different type of preparation when you play a team with that style of offense. Not only is the offense different than what you usually face, but they are very, very good at what they do.”
Bramlett calls Picayune senior running back Darrell Smith a “very special player.” Smith ran for more than 160 yards against the Greyhounds a year ago.
“He is tough to tackle,” said Bramlett. “He can throw the ball, return kicks and can do a little bit of everything.”
Defensively, Bramlett said Picayune “plays the game the right way.”
“They play hard, they get to the football and they find ways to populate the box,” said Bramlett.
Stogner is expecting another tough game against the Greyhounds.
“Ocean Springs is a really good football team that is well-coached,” said Stogner. “Very explosive on offense and they have been getting better each week on defense. They are the best 1-3 team I’ve ever seen.”
In order to come out with a win, Stogner said his outnumbered team must fight like the 300 Spartans against the Persians.
“I just want to see us fight with all we have until that 48 minutes is up,” said Stogner. “We have to sustain and finish drives on offense. We’ve been having good drives, but just haven’t capitalized. We have to be in better position and tackle much better on defense to give us a chance.
“These young guys are coming along and we are just looking for them to gain confidence in themselves and turn that corner.”
Bramlett said the key for his team to win on Friday is control the line of scrimmage and build a lead going into halftime.
“Their style of play tends to wear you down in the second half,” said Bramlett. “You have to keep your foot on the gas against a team like that.”
The game is homecoming for Ocean Springs and the kickoff at Hugh Pepper Field is set for 7 p.m.
