Maroon Tide moves to South State finals with 28-3 win over Brookhaven
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Picayune—Picayune’s defense held Brookhaven a second quarter field goal while the Maroon Tide offense churned out 308 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-3 win over the Brookhaven Panthers.
After each team turned the ball over on downs, Picayune scored on its second possession on a 10 play 73 yard drive taking 5 minutes 19 seconds. Donte Dowdell scored on a 4 yard run and Morgan Craft kicked the point after with 11:05 left in the second quarter.
Brookhaven was able to move the ball to the Picayune 18 before settling for a 35 yard field goal by Bryce Smith to make it 7-3 with 6:35 left before halftime.
Picayune’s next possession ended on downs at the Panther 46. The Maroon Tide defense held forcing a punt. The snap was high and the punter was unable to handle it. Picayune’s Josh Tatum scooped up the ball and ran it to the 14.
Two plays later, Dowdell scored from 9 yards out and Craft kicked the point after for a 14-3 with :40 left in the quarter.
Photos by Randy Brown / WRJW Sports
Donte Dowdell (2) looks for a hole to run through with Dawson Underwood (7) and Noah Carter (16) leading the way.
Brookhaven moved the ball to the Picayune 15 on the first possession in the second half, but the Panthers fumbled and Tyrel McGill picked up the loose ball and returned to the Maroon Tide 42.
Picayune ran 16 plays eating up 9 mins and 7 seconds with Dawson Underwood scoring on a 2 yard run. Craft booted the extra point to make it 21-7 with 11:07 left in the game. A key play in the drive was a third down pass completion from Dawson Underwood to Noah Carter for a first down.
Dorian Robinson (5) and Josh Tatum (23) combine for a tackle for a loss
Picayune added its last touchdown on a 1 yard run by Dowdell with 2:27 left.
Dowdell had 173 yards on 27 carries and Chris Davis added 49 yards on 7 rushes. Dawson Underwood was 2-2 passing for 48 yards (28 to Jessiah Contee; 16 yards to Noah Carter).
Picayune (12-1) will host Laurel on Friday for the South State Championship at 7:00 p.m.
