By Joseph W. Gex II/Sports Writer

PICAYUNE — The Picayune Maroon Tide (9-2) used a lighting fast run game and stingy defense to rush past the George County Rebels (3-8) in the first round of the Class 6A state playoffs Friday night. 

Picayune wasted little time to find the end zone when Xavier Dennis ripped off a 15-yard scoring run with 8:34 left in the first quarter on the seventh play of the drive. Edgar Cruz converted on the PAT to make the score 7-0.

The Maroon Tide attempted an onsides kick following the kickoff and recovered the ball at the Rebel 46-yard line. 

Following a holding penalty on the Tide, Dennis broke free for a 55-yard sprint to the endzone with 7:52 left in the opening quarter. Cruz pushed the score to 14-0 with his PAT. 

On the ensuing possession, the Rebels converted three consecutive fourth downs to keep their 14-play drive alive. Easton Howell carried the ball up the middle of the Maroon Tide defense six times for 13 tough yards before Wyatt Spidahl connected with Grant Reeves who broke an open field tackle for a 45-yard scoring aerial with 1:09 remaining in the first quarter. The PAT was good making the score 14-7.

George County attempted an onsides kick but failed to recover leaving the Tide with the ball at midfield. The seven-play drive ended with Dennis scoring on a 11-yard keeper off tackle with 9:44 left in the first half. Cruz made the score 21-7 with his PAT.

The Picayune defense held firm forcing a George County punt that gave the ball to Picayune at their own 10-yard line.

Four plays later, Jamari Hathorne found the end zone on a 60-yard run with 2:59 left in the first half. Cruz made the score 28-7 with his PAT. 

Jamari Hathorne picked off George County on the ensuing possession at midfield.

Colt Robertson hooked up with Ontario Wilkins on a 49-yard scoring toss with 1:15 left. Cruz failed at the PAT leaving the halftime score of 34-7.

The Rebels got the ball to start the second half but the Tide recovered a loose ball on the third play from scrimmage at the Tide 47-yard line.

Dennis started the drive and ended the six-play drive when he scored from 27-yards out. Cruz converted the PAT to make the score 41-7.

Another three-and-out by the Maroon Tide defense gave Picayune the ball at their own 31-yard line. Dennis ripped off a 58-yard run that brought them to the George County red zone. Three plays later, Jamari Hathorne scored on a two-yard pass. Cruz made good on the PAT to push the score to 48-7 and the clock counted down non-stop.

Picayune head coach Cody Stogner stated, “I am very pleased with how we performed tonight against a solid opponent. It was imperative that we responded after the showing we had against a county rival last week. We had to get that out of our system. Tonight, we played a full four quarters. Xavier Dennis was lightning tonight and ran extremely hard. It was great to get Maken Burnette back from his injury. He made a difference blocking for Xavier tonight. His leadership was greatly missed on the field. Now, we turn our focus to the second round and are 0-0 now trying to get to 1-0. The job is to survive and advance.”

The Maroon Tide was led by Xavier Dennis who had 12 carries for 209 yards and four touchdowns. Colt Robertson threw for 62 yards on 6-for-7 passing. Jamari Hawthorne had 3 carries for 71 yards and two touchdowns and Donovan Banks had one carry for 11 yards and a touchdown. Burnett finished with 5 carries for 35 yards and Ontario Wilkins had one reception for 49 yards and a touchdown.

George County head coach Kelly Causey commented, “We knew what the job was coming here tonight to play a team like Picayune. We had to play solid defense to give our offense a chance to control the clock and keep them off the field. We gave up 55 points in the game and that is not playing good defense. Picayune has a really good football team. Xavier Dennis is electrifying when he touches the football. Their physical size is a lot to match up with. We were able to play with them early but eventually they wore us down. Looking forward, we have a solid core group returning as we are a fairly young team. We had several young players getting snaps tonight and throughout this season. We lost just one on the offensive line. We have to get bigger, stronger, and faster. That is our goal to strive toward this off-season.”

The Rebels were led by Branden Gautier with 23 carries for 94 yards followed by Easton Howell with 25 carries for 54 yards. Wyatt Spidahl threw for 77 yards, and touchdown, and interception on 3-for-13 passing. Grant Reeves caught all three passes.