By Maurice Singleton/Sports Writer

OCEAN SPRINGS — Xavier Dennis led Picayune’s dominating offensive attack over Ocean Springs on Friday, defeating the Greyhounds 38-10. Dennis rushed for 252 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries.

Dennis was unstoppable as he found seams in the line of scrimmage and broke free for touchdown runs of 25 yards, 22 yards, 76 yards and 69 yards.

Sophomore running back Javion Mason got the Maroon Tide on the scoreboard first with a 14-yard carry to open the game’s scoring. He was one of four backs to touch the ball on the game’s opening possession.

The Maroon Tide’s defense gave up only 12 yards to the Greyhounds on their first possession, allowing a single first down on the series. And the Maroon Tide offense was back on the field. This time Dennis carried on the first four snaps, picking up a total of 12 yards on the four plays.

Then sophomore running back R.J. Reed broke free for 19 yards into Greyhound territory. After three different backs carved out a total of 8 yards, the Maroon Tide called Dennis’s number on fourth down with 2 yards to go. And Dennis didn’t disappoint as he broke away from Greyhound defenders for a 25-yard carry to extend the lead to 14-0.

The Greyhounds had their best possession of the night on their ensuing possession, starting at their own 14-yard line. They put together an 11-play drive, moving the ball all the way to the Picayune 7-yard line, but the Maroon Tide defense held them to a 25-yard field goal attempt which Evan Ta converted to put the Greyhounds on the scoreboard.

“That was just a testament to the preparation and work they put in this week,” said Picayune head coach Cody Stogner. “The way they played for each other in that overtime at Biloxi, they played for each other tonight, and that was the mentality we had from the moment the ball was kicked off throughout the whole game.

“I’m so proud of them,” said Stogner. “They answered the call this week. They played with a lot of heart; they played with a lot of passion. They played the way they were coached to play this week.”

The Maroon Tide answered the Greyhounds’ second quarter field goal with a quick two-play drive featuring Dennis on a 4-yard carry before he broke through the line of scrimmage and into the secondary for a 76-yard score with just over 9 minutes to go before halftime.

Donovan Banks recovered a Greyhound fumble for the Maroon Tide on the first snap of the ensuing possession, giving Picayune excellent field position at the Greyhound 22-yard line. Two plays after Dennis’s biggest run of the night, he scored again to extend the lead to 28-3 with 8:52 left on the second quarter clock.

The Maroon Tide would score on a 30-yard field goal on their fifth possession of the night to extend their lead to 31-3 with four and a half minutes before halftime.

The Greyhounds would put together a 9-play drive to the Maroon Tide 31-yard line to open the second half, but the drive stalled as they failed to convert on fourth down, turning the ball over on downs.

And once again, the Maroon Tide went to their bread and butter back as Dennis broke free for a 69-yard score and his fourth touchdown on the night.

The game would go to a running clock as Picayune brought in their backups. Ocean Springs would put together a 6-play scoring drive with Lanny Waltman scoring from two yards out to close out the game’s scoring.

“They played well tonight,” said Ocean Springs coach Jake Bramlett. “We had a lot of lack of execution, especially offensively. Drops killed us. We put the ball on the ground on turnovers, and you can’t do that against a good football team.

“We got to do a better playing our assignment,” said Bramlett. “That’s part of being a young team, playing assignment football. They’re going to come around. They’re learning things the hard way, but they’re going to get better for it.”

Ocean Springs (1-3) opens region play on the road at Biloxi next Friday. Picayune hosts Poplarville next Friday.

The Maroon Tide (2-2) scored on each of their first five possessions to take a 31-3 lead with just under five minutes to play before halftime.