By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

PETAL — After starting the season off with four straight home games, for the second straight week Picayune hit the road to face a larger Class 7A foe.
And, for the second consecutive game, the Maroon Tide used some effective ball control at the end of the contest to pull out a close win.
Picayune held off home-standing Petal 24-21 Friday night at Panther Stadium. Both teams now stand 4-2 on the season.
After leading 13-7 at halftime the Maroon Tide withstood a strong second half rally by the Panthers to pull out the big win.

“It was ugly but we will take it.” Picayune head coach Cody Stogner said. “An ugly win is better than a pretty loss. We moved the ball methodically on offense to keep it away from them and we knew they were pretty dang good on offense. Anytime you can come into petal and get a “W “it’s great bccause this is a tough place to play.”
Picayune got on the scoreboard first, when after a speedy first quarter Maroon Tide standout senior tailback Darrell Smith dashed in on a four-yard scoring run to make it 6-0 on the second play of the second stanza.
The 18 play drive took almost 10 minutes off the clock, and came after Picayune forced the Panthers to turn the ball over on downs deep in Maroon Tide territory that ended Petal’s opening possession of the game.
But the home team responded to take the lead, as Chavez Walker scored on a 3-yard jaunt to make it 7-6 with 3:41 to go before halftime.
Picayune wasn’t done, however. Facing a third and 10 situation from their own 25, Smith sprinted 51 yards to the Petal 24 with just over two minutes to play.

Five plays later, Maroon Tide quarterback Brandon Parker hit Allan Magee on a 6-yard scoring pass with :23 seconds to go to return the lead to Picayune at 13-7 at intermission.
The Maroon Tide pushed that advantage ever so slightly a bit to 16-7 on the opening drive of the second half when Edgar Cruz booted a 37-yard field goal to make it 16-7.
But Petal was having none of that and responded quickly on a 1-yard scoring run from Corey Toole to get within 16-14. The play was set up by a 63-yard dash from Acely Brown to the Picayune 13.
After forcing a three and out from Picayune, Petal was right back at it with a 68-yard scoring strike from Eli Causey to Brown early in the fourth period to push the Panthers ahead at 21-16.
But, just as they did in a comeback win over Ocean Springs the week before, Picayune bounced back.

The Maroon Tide recovered an on-sides kick on the ensuing kickoff by Petal around mid-field. And six plays later Parker found Magee again this time from 23-yards out for the game-winning points. Parker also pulled in the two-point conversion on a halfback option pass from Smith to make it 24-21.
The Panthers used a couple of penalties by the Maroon Tide to move deep into Picayune territory, but Henry Haydell missed a potential game-tying field goal from 30-yards out with just less than two minutes to play.
The Maroon Tide and Smith then picked up two first downs to run the clock out.

Last week, in the 34-31 win over the Greyhounds, Picayune also was able to run out the clock at the end of the game with a pair of first downs in the closing minutes.