By Stan Caldwell/Sports Writer

HATTIESBURG — Here’s a scary thought for any teams who may have to face Hattiesburg in the next three weeks.

The Tigers have a running attack. A good one, too. And they rode that ground game to an efficient 42-0 victory over Pearl River Central Friday night in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs at D.I. Patrick Stadium.

HHS improved to 9-2 and will host Pascagoula next week in the second round. PRC finished 7-4 overall.

“They’re very good,” said PRC coach John Feaster. “They’ve got good athletes, man, but as a coach, staff and players, we didn’t bring our best tonight. We’re still trying to get better, still trying to get to that spot where they are.

“They’re better than us, because they were prepared for the moment.”

Hattiesburg made this one a runaway early, scoring touchdowns all four times it had the ball in the first half, then opened the second half with another touchdown to put the running clock into effect the rest of the way.

And after the Blue Devils upset Picayune last week, they had the Tigers’ attention.

“Our kids started off fast,” said HHS first-year head coach Kendall Lacey. “We challenged our kids not to come out flat, because in big playoff games, that’s how you get upset. So, you don’t want to allow the chance for something freakish to happen.

“They had a big upset win last week, and we didn’t want to be another team added to their belt of upsets.”

The Tigers deferred after winning the pregame coin toss, and immediately stuffed the Blue Devils with a three-and-out.

PRC got a good punt, with the ball rolling dead at the Hattiesburg 10-yard-line, but the Tigers made that distance look easy, driving the length of the field in just seven plays. Senior Toney Scott scored the touchdown on a 3-yard run.

Senior Davion Young took the first play from scrimmage after the punt 31 yards around left end on a reverse, and the stampede was on. In all, HHS ran the ball 36 times for 370 yards on the ground.

The Tigers ran Young on the same reverse four more times, and the only time Pearl River Central stopped it was the last time, in the second half when it was much too late.

The Blue Devils had their only sustained drive of the night on the ensuing possession, using more than six minutes off the clock, driving from their own 26 to a first down at the Tiger 25. The big play was a 30-yard burst on fourth down by sophomore quarterback Titus Feaster.

But on second-and-6, a high snap resulted in an 11-yard loss, Feaster’s third down pass was incomplete, and his 6-yard run on fourth down was well short of the line to gain.

“We’re just not ready to get over the hump,” Feaster said. “I will take full responsibility for that, you know. We’re trying to get some guys involved, but we’ve got to do a better job of being ready. That’s on me as a head coach

Hattiesburg went right back to work after the fourth-down stop, driving 74 yards on six plays, most of them coming on a 69-yard touchdown run off right guard by sophomore Bryson Brown. The PAT kick failed, but the Tigers had a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter.

HHS added to its lead after another three-and-out, driving 72 yards on eight plays, all runs, the score coming on a 20-yard scamper off right tackle by senior Josh Marshall.

Junior Kendall Morrison’s 31-yard return set the Blue Devils up in good field position at their own 44, and Feaster connected with his brother, senior John Feaster Jr., for 13 yards and a first down.

But on the second-down play, the Blue Devils lost a fumble, with junior Rafael Dean recovering for Hattiesburg with 4:40 to pay in the first half.

The Tigers used all but 25 seconds of that time on a nine-play scoring drive, converting a fourth-and-5 near midfield by drawing an encroachment foul. Young’s 32 yard run on a reverse to the left side resulted in a first down at the Blue Devil 19.

PRC appeared to force a 30-yard field-goal attempt after stopping the Tigers four yards short on a third-and-7.

But offsides was called on Hattiesburg, so instead of a 35-yard attempt, Lacey sent the offense back on the field. The result was an 18-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Gavin Ducksworth to junior J.B. Bryant.

Ducksworth only attempted seven passes, but he was good on six of them for 83 yards and two touchdowns.

Hattiesburg got the ball to start the second half, and needed just 15 seconds to add to its lead.

On the first play from scrimmage, Young took yet another reverse around the left side almost untouched for a 62-yard touchdown run. In all, Young ran for 133 yards on just five carries.

And, just for good measure, he carried in the two-point conversion that got the Tigers to the 35 points needed to put the running clock into effect.

HHS added a touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a 29-yard pass from Ducksworth to senior Brayln Allbritton.

Despite the disappointment, Feaster was happy about his team’s progress in finishing with the Blue Devils’ first winning season in 10 years.

“We’re going to be fine moving forward,” Feaster said. “We’re going to continue to close the gap that exists between us and teams like Hattiesburg. We’ve just got to do a better job of getting our kids prepared for these big-game moments.”