By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

PICAYUNE — Some things have changed a bit for perennial state power Picayune over the past few seasons.

After all, the Maroon Tide, who captured back-to-back state titles in 2021 and 2022 and have played for crowns six times in the past 15 years while winning five, haven’t made it back to the state final round since winning it all four years ago.

However, as much as things may change, a lot of the success remains the same at Picayune, which has played in five straight South State championship games and won at least 10 games a year in that stretch as well under head coach Cody Stogner.

Also, another constant for the Maroon Tide is a dominant rushing attack. And, as Stogner, a former Maroon Tide lineman, enters his seventh season at the helm of his alma mater, that hasn’t changed one bit either.

“It helps out when you return almost all of your yardage in the backfield,” Stogner said, in a recent interview. “Especially as young as we are going to be up front. We are returning two starters on the offensive line. We have got some young guys and some guys who are just green, you know, it will be their first time playing, so having that experience and leadership back there goes a long way.

But it’s also good to have those guys behind them carrying the ball.”

Stogner was speaking specifically of his standout senior tailback Xavier Dennis, along with his understudy Jamari Hathorne.

The latest in a long line of successful and productive Maroon Tide tailbacks, Dennis produced 275 carries for 2,840 rushing yards and 35 touchdowns, averaging 218 rushing yards per game, last season as a junior.mThe versatile and speedy 5-foot-9, 155-pound stalwart was a major reason why Picayune went 10-3 and fell in the Class 6A South State championship game to Hattiesburg for the second straight season.

He was named First Team Class 6A All-State for his work last season.

Dennis also had an almost inexplicable performance against Hancock, as he ran for 355 yards and 5 touchdowns, all in the first half alone, including scoring scampers of 80, 97 and 76 yards in a 52-20 thumping of the Hawks in the Class 6A South State semifinals.

He also a 94-yard touchdown that was called back due to penalty.

Meanwhile, Hathorne, who is also a returning starter in the defensive backfield, is ready to carry the ball more this season as well after he ran for 529 yards and eight touchdowns last year.

Picayune will have a new quarterback in Tanner Rayborn as well as a new fullback in former offensive and defensive lineman A.K. Burnett.

Edgar Cruz and Jacob Nixon are the pair of veterans back up front.

Defensively, Hathorne and Xavier Richardson will patrol the secondary while big things are expected out of Grayson Aulds and Kelvin Stallings at linebacker.

Picayune gets Jeremiah Mark back after he concentrated solely on basketball the past two years, and the 6-foot-4, 250-pound senior will see time at both tight end and on the defensive line. He is already on the radar of some collegiate coaches.

The Maroon Tide only returns four starters on both sides of the ball, and has to replace both offensive lineman Mitchell Smith (Vanderbilt) and defensive lineman Nolan Wilson (Alabama) who have each moved on to the Southeastern Conference.

The powerful Cruz doubles up on kicking duty and has developed into one of the top place-kicking threats in South Mississippi. Last year, he converted 58 extra points as well as four-of-five field goals.

Despite the stretch of success over the past six seasons since taking over as head coach, including five straight region titles as well, Stogner knows everyone of his teams every year still has something to prove.

“Nothing is given to us. We have to earn everything,” he concluded. “Every game is a battle, and right now we are just taking every day as a battle. We are just trying to get better every day, every way that we can. We want to be a better version of ourselves going into tomorrow, and whatever happened yesterday is in the past. As long as we are continuing that trend of moving in the right direction, I like where we are at.”

The Maroon Tide kicks off the new season at home, on Fri., Aug. 28th, as defending Class 7A state champion Gulfport comes calling.