HATTIESBURG — The West Point vs. Picayune trilogy is complete, and Darrell Smith struck the deciding blow in favor of the Maroon Tide.
Smith hauled in a short pass in the left flat from Picayune quarterback Brady Robertson and sprinted 80 yards down the sideline for a touchdown, breaking two tackles on his way.
That touchdown gave Picayune a 24-14 lead late in the third quarter, an explosive and definitive turning point in a second half the Maroon Tide controlled on the way to a 31-21 win in the Mississippi 5A state championship game Friday night at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
The play design capitalized on West Point’s defense cheating bit-by-bit toward the line of scrimmage in an attempt to stop the freight train otherwise known as Dante Dowdell. The four-star Oregon commit rushed for 190 yards and three touchdowns on the night. On this snap, he was a decoy.
“We saw their linebacker kind of going with the flow of the game,” Picayune coach Cody Stogner said. “It helps when you’ve got No. 2 back there carrying the load 29, 30 times a game. …We’ve been knowing (Smith) was gonna be a good player since he was in seventh grade.”
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After a title game defeat to West Point (11-3) in 2019, Picayune (15-0) can now claim back-to-back championship victories over a powerhouse Green Wave program.
It’s the first time the Maroon Tide has claimed back-to-back titles, also capping the school’s first undefeated season since 1937.
“It’s so hard to get here,” Stogner said. “It involves so much work and luck and effort. It’s just so sweet. …The things they do are remarkable. I can’t say enough about them.”
Smith’s reception marked the second of two completed passes for the Maroon Tide on the night. With a star-studded rushing attack, it mattered little.
Dowdell was fearsome as ever. When he wasn’t carrying the ball, three-star Class of 2024 prospect Chris Davis was. He followed with 104 more yards on the ground as Stogner’s team executed the blueprint it has used all season to win the program’s fifth state championship.
West Point threatened to derail Picayune’s perfect season in the first half, when Quint Tillman-Evans connected with Ahmari Cox for touchdowns of 86 and 41 yards to put the Green Wave up 14-3.
Dowdell responded with a 1-yard touchdown rush before the half, then powered through contact for a 22-yard TD with 8:20 remaining in the third quarter to take the lead. The Maroon Tide never trailed again.
“We just got guys that got heart and run downhill,” Dowdell said. “We do that, nobody can stop us.”