By JOSEPH W. GEX II/Sports Writer

Bay St. Louis — The Bay High Tigers used the powerful running of Jaylen Antoine and opportunistic defensive plays to dispose of the Moss Point Tigers 46-27 in Region 8-4A action at Joe D. McCullough Stadium Friday night.

Bay High (2-5, 1-0) opened the game on offense and moved the ball down to the Moss Point (0-7, 0-1) 21 yard line on 11 plays before fumbling the football. 

Moss Point tried the flea-flicker on their first play but Noah Smith forced a fumble on his sack of Moss Point quarterback Ke’von Ford that Avery Harris recovered at the Moss Point three yard line. 

Antoine scored on a three-yard carry with roughly six minutes remaining in the first quarter. The two-point conversion failed leaving the score 6-0.

Moss Point put together a seven play drive to answer Bay High with a Ford touchdown run of 12 yards. The two-point conversion failed leaving the score 6-6.

On the ensuing possession, Bay High needed eight plays to find the endzone with about 10 minutes left in the first half when Xander Ladner found Landen Evans with a four-yard scoring aerial. Tripp Barraclough’s PAT was good making the score 13-6.

Moss Point and Ford needed just three plays to answer Bay High as Ford found the end zone on a three-yard run. Ford converted on the teo-point attempt giving Moss Point their only lead of the game 14-13.

Bay High appeared to be stalled by Moss Point just past midfield and lined up for a punt on fourth and two. DeKaiden Johnson took the snap on a fake punt and broke back left with nothing but open turf and scored on a 46-yard run. The PAT was good giving Bay High a 20-14 lead. 

Bay High held firm on defense getting the ball back near midfield. 

Bay High capped a six-play drive with a 23-yard pass from Ladner to Harris with roughly two minutes remaining in the half. The PAT was good making the score 27-14.

On the ensuing drive, Smith jumped a Moss Point route and intercepted the aerial to end Moss Point’s drive going into intermission.

Moss Point opened the second half on offense with a 12-play drive that was kept alive by a pass interference call on fourth down. Moss Point capped the drive with an eight-yard run by Ford. The two-point conversion failed leaving the score 27-20.

Bay High got back in groove with Antoine scoring on a 21-yard run to cap a six-play drive. The touchdown was set up by a nine-yard pass from Ladner to Harris on a fourth and six. The PAT was good making the score 34-20.

Moss Point seemed to be pushing the ball but Sage Fayard broke through on a fourth down to sack Ford shy of the line to gain. 

Bay High’s ensuing drive stalled out due to a penalty giving Moss Point the ball back. 

Moss Point appeared to have a completion but Treyvion Allen made a huge hit that jarred the ball loose and Johnson returned the ball to the Moss Point 20 yard line before stepping out of bounds. 

Antoine answered with a 20-yard run for Bay High on the one play drive. The PAT kick failed leaving the score 40-20.

Moss Point put together a 14-play drive that culminated with a Ford one-yard run. The PAT kick was good making the score 40-27.

On the ensuing nine-play drive, Antoine carried the ball eight times with the final carry being a seven-yard scoring run. The PAT kick failed leaving the final score 46-27. The touchdown was set up by a 20-yard completion from Ladner to Jackson Callaway on a third down and 10. 

Bay High head coach Jeremy Turcotte stated, “This past week of practice, we talked to the players a lot about confidence. We have had some bad luck this year with bad bounces of the ball. The seniors did a tremendous job of leading the players this week in practice. They went out and made some plays tonight that changed the outcome of the game. This was a big win for us, but it was a big division win, as well. Now, we have to put this one behind us and prepare for the next game. This week we travel to Greene County so we have to be prepared for another division battle.”

Jaylen Antoine led the Tigers with 37 carries for 241 yards and four touchdowns. Xander Ladner was 5-for-8 passing for 71 yards and two touchdowns. Charles Richardson added 19 yards on six carries. On defense the Tigers were paced by Sage Fayard with 16 tackles followed by Noah Smith with seven tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble. Avery Harris added six tackles, a fumble recovery, and a sack. Treyvion Allen had seven tackles and a forced fumble. 

The Tigers travel to Greene County (5-1, 1-0) to tangle with the Wildcats. Greene County was idle Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.