By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

PICAYUNE — The drought continues.
Pascagoula had lost 12 straight games on the road against Picayune coming into Friday night’s Region 4-6A opener at Lee-Triplett Stadium. And the Panthers proceeded to take a 21-14 lead into halftime.
But the home-standing Maroon Tide dominated the second half of play, scoring 17 unanswered points in one span to erase that deficit and pull out a huge 38-28 win over Pascagoula.
The win was the third straight for Picayune as head coach Cody Stogner’s crew moved to 5-2 on the season while the Panthers drop to 4-2.

“What a big win,” Stogner said. “That’s a good team we just beat. They’d been off for two weeks and they came in with a good game plan and I do believe we’ll see them again. But I’m so proud of our coaches and players for how they responded in the second half. You have to give all the credit to them.”
Picayune got 256 yards rushing and four touchdowns from senior standout tailback Darrell Smith in the winning effort.
“He’s just unbelievable, and that may be an understatement,” Stogner said, of Smith. “They couldn’t stop him. He’s the best player in the state in my opinion.”
Both teams got off to a quick start as Pascagoula scored on its first three possessions and Picayune countered on its first two to give the Panthers that 21-14 lead at halftime.

Pascagoula quarterback Silas Corder wasted no time in getting to work, as on the fourth play from scrimmage for the Panthers he hooked up with wide out Christian Campbell on a 65-yard scoring strike to make it 7-0.
Picayune bounced right back with s six play scoring drive as Smith capped it off with an eight yard scoring run to tie it up at 7-7.
Pascagoula and Corder were right back at it as on a fourth and two situation from his own 31 Corder connected with Darrius Carter on a 69-yard scoring catch and run and it was 14-7 at the end of the first frame.
On the second play of the second stanza, Smith burst into the end zone for a two-yard touchdown run and again it was tied up this time at 14-14.

But the Panthers had one more bullet in the chamber than did the Maroon Tide in the first half, as tailback Amarie Jackson bullied his way over from a yard out to make it 21-14 mid-way through the second period.
Both teams turned the ball over on downs and then each committed a turn over just before intermission, as Pascagoula’s Tomareo Johnson picked off a pass and Picayune’s Nolan Wilson fell on a Corder fumble.
Maroon Tide placekicker Edgar Cruz missed a 39-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
But the second half was all Picayune.

On the first play of the third quarter, after the third squib kickoff of the game for Pascagoula, Picayune took over at their own 48 yard line and Smith quickly sprinted 52-yards for a touchdown to tie things up at 21-21.
Then, after a long kickoff and holding Pascagoula to a three and out for the first time in the game, a short Panther punt set Picayune up at the Pascagoula 36.

Seven plays later, Maroon Tide quarterback Brandon Parker found Brodrick Ducre on a seven-yard scoring pass that gave Picayune a lead it would never relinquish at 28-21.
As the fourth quarter unfolded, Cruz booted a 29-yard field goal to extend Picayune’s lead to 31-21 with 6:03 to play.

The teams then traded scores to wrap things up, as Jackson scored on an 8-yard run to cut the deficit to 31-21 on Mason Kramer’s fourth point-after of the game while Picayune countered with another scoring run from Smith on a 47-yard scamper to seal the win at 38-28 after Cruz’s fifth PAT.
And the drought was extended to 13 games. Pascagoula hasn’t won in Picayune since 1988.