By Curtis Rockwell/Sports Director

OCEAN SPRINGS — Stone standout running back Ayden Green gets the “Baria Law Firm Game Ball of the Week” this week.

Every week throughout the end of the school year, we will honor student/athletes across the “Southern Six” with our “Game Ball of the Week” sponsored by David Baria, Attorney-Mediator.

Stone survived an offensive shootout with visiting Hancock Friday night.

The home-standing Tomcats held off the Hawks 50-44 in the season-opener for both teams here at A.L. May Stadium on the campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

Stone used a powerful one-two punch at running back to account for over 400 yards rushing in the big win, as Ayden Gren ran for 208 yards and four scores and Amarion Fairley added 154 yards and two scores to the winning attack.

Stone got rolling quickly and took a 14-0 lead thanks to a 40-yard quarterback draw by Xander Howard just over a minute into the game as well as a 77-yard scoring scamper by Green.

But after falling behind in the second quarter, the Tomcats responded with a 51-yard touchdown run as well as a 6-yard scoring jaunt by Green to take the lead back at 28-23 going into halftime.

Then, with Stone trailing 30-28 in the third frame, Green raced 88-yards untouched late in the period to put Stone up for good at 36-30 after Fairley added a two-point conversion.

The Tomcats head just a piece east down U.S. Highway 26 to Poplarville to take on the home-standing Hornets this Friday. The contest will feature two of the best running backs in the state in Green and Poplarville’s Ty Keys.

The Baria Law Firm, the Gulf Coast branch of Cosmich, Simmons and Brown, provides a beacon of trust and reliability in a complex legal landscape. Our firm’s unwavering dedication to you is at the core of everything we do. Choose David Baria of Baria Law as your legal ally, and let us handle the details while you focus on what matters most. Reach out to David at 228-395-8303 or dbaria@barialaw.com and at https://barialaw.com.