Mississippi high school football: 8 teams that made a statement in the playoffs

High school football teams across the state of Mississippi played games to advance in the playoffs.

Here is a collection of results from across the state.

Olive Branch 24, Madison Central 7

Olive Branch head coach Tyler Turner’s speech to his team before their first-round playoff game against Madison Central was inspired by the biblical story of Benaiah and the lion. In the story, Benaiah chases down a lion that falls into a pit and kills it.

Turner used the story to encourage his team to chase down Madison Central, the lion of an opponent that stood between the Conquistadors and the second round. His team accepted that challenge and upset No. 5 Madison Central (9-3) 24-7 on Friday in Olive Branch.

The Conquistador (9-3) defense held Jimmy Holiday and the Madison Central offense to their lowest scoring output of the season. The Jaguars also managed just 173 total yards of offense.

“That was a big win for the program,” Turner said.  “We’ve known our defense has played good football all year long. They played lights out tonight. Jimmy is going to get his. We just had to keep him contained and limit his big plays.”

Olive Branch trailed 7-3 in the third quarter before Eli Ashley connected with Temias Mason for an 85-yard touchdown pass. That score was the first of 21 unanswered points the Conquistadors would score in the second half.

They’ll head to Starkville to face the Yellowjackets in the second round of the playoffs.

Petal 31, Biloxi 0

As good as Petal has been defensively this season, they weren’t able to post a shutout in the regular season. One round into the Class 6A playoffs Petal (11-1) already held a team scoreless, keeping Biloxi off the scoreboard in a 31-0 win.

Petal’s defense did not allow Biloxi to get a first down through three quarters of play on Friday night. It was the first time this season Biloxi was held scoreless.

“Our defense played really well,” Petal head coach Marcus Boyles said. “They’ve been solid all year long. I do think they’re getting better, but they’ve been good all year long.”

With the way the defense was playing the 24-0 halftime lead the Panthers raced out to was enough for them to spend the second half in cruise control.

Petal will host Brandon, a division foe they beat 27-24 in the regular season, in the second round of the playoffs.

Oak Grove 42, Ocean Springs 14

Oak Grove just keeps on rolling. The Warriors (9-3) scored 35 unanswered points in the first half before coasting to a 42-14 win over Ocean Springs (5-7) in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs. It’s the sixth-straight game in which Oak Grove has scored 30 or more points.

Quarterback Damon Stewart is the primary reason for the recent offensive success and he continued his hot streak in the opening round of the playoffs. Stewart accounted for every Oak Grove touchdown, throwing four and rushing for two in the win.

“He’s been playing really well,” Oak Grove head coach Drew Causey said. “He’s taking what the defense gives him and reading the right things.

We’re really starting to click. We’re doing a good job of coming to work every day.”

Oak Grove heads to Gulfport on Friday for the second round of the playoffs. While we’re on the subject of staying hot….

Brandon 35, D’Iberville 25

There’s another quarterback that’s cooking in Class 6A and his name is Will Rogers. The Dandy Dozen and Mississippi State commit had yet another solid performance to lead the Bulldogs (9-4) to a 35-25 win over D’Iberville (9-3) on Friday.

Rogers threw four touchdown passes in the first-round playoff win. Three of those came in the first half and helped Brandon jump out to a 21-13 lead. They’d lead 35-13 after three quarters before the Warriors scored 12 fourth-quarter points in a comeback effort. That’s all they could muster though. After its final score of the night, D’Iberville attempted a two-point conversion to make it a one score game but Brandon came up with a clutch stop.

“Proud to be moving on,” Bulldogs head coach Tyler Peterson said. “It’s one of those games that scares you. Our guys stayed with it. We took a punch from them and our guys came right back and gave one. We never got too high or too low and were able to pull it out in the end.”

West Point 49, Provine 28

West Point (12-1) intercepted five Provine (9-4) passes and returned two for touchdowns, en route to a three-score victory.

"They caught some balls on us, which is going to happen because you can't stop them all the time," West Point football head coach Chris Chambless said. "We played a pretty good run defense and we made them earn what they got. We didn't tackle well at times, but we tackled well enough tonight."

The 5A round one matchup was a physical one, according to Chambless, and West Point's defensive gameplan was to contain Provine junior wide receiver Deion Smith. 

West Point hosts Lafayette (9-3) on Nov. 22 in round two of the 5A playoffs.

Lake Cormorant 61, Ridgeland 25

The Gators (8-4) capitalized off of early Ridgeland (8-4) turnovers to cruise to a huge round one victory on Friday night in the 5A playoffs.

On one drive, Lake Cormorant drove the ball to Ridgeland's 1-yard line and turned the ball over on downs before getting a safety on the ensuing defensive possession. The Gators then scored on their next offensive drive before forcing a Ridgeland fumble on the next kickoff and returning the loose ball for another touchdown to complete the three-score swing.

Junior running back Jaiden Gray finished with three touchdowns and senior athlete J.J. Daniels also finished with multiple touchdowns in addition to making key plays on defense. 

Moving forward in the postseason, Lake Cormorant head coach Nick Nester said he wants his team to stop leaving points on the board in addition to playing better on special teams and being consistent.

The Gators now head on the road to face Neshoba Central (9-3) on Nov. 22. 

"It's going to be a totally different mindset of how we prepare for this game because Neshoba is the exact opposite of Ridgeland," Nester said. "They run the ball a lot, I know they have some good running backs. We have to shift our focus on how we're going to prepare for that."

East Webster 36, Pelahatchie 35

It was a showdown to remember.

East Webster (11-1) came out of the gates swinging, getting out to a 24-0 halftime lead over Pelahatchie (10-3).

Pelahatchie then scored 35 consecutivee points to take a two-score lead with two minutes remaining. The Wolverines then scored quickly before recovering their first onside kick attempt of the season to set up the last-minute comeback.

With less than 45 seconds remaining, senior Gray McCarter hauled in a 26-yard touchdown pass to put East Webster back on top. Pelahatchie began its final drive of the night with 38 seconds left, but the Chiefs' offense was ultimately stopped to give the Wolverines the ticket to round three of the 2A playoffs.

"I've been in some good high school games," East Webster football head coach Ron Price after letting out a laugh reflecting on the night. "Tonight maybe the best. It was unbelievable, it was just big for us to win."

East Webster goes on the road next week to face North Side.

Madison-Ridgeland Academy 42, Oak Forest 13

Philip Short surpassed 200 yards in the first half and Madison-Ridgeland Academy jumped out to a 28-0 halftime lead en route to victory over Oak Forest in the semifinals of the MAIS 6A playoffs.

“Great team defense,” MRA coach Herbert Davis said. “We came out and executed early and did a great job getting a lead on them early, which was big. It set the tone for whole game.”

The Patriots (11-2) have advanced to play Jackson Prep for the state championship next weekend. Jackson Prep defeated Jackson Academy 28-14 on Friday night. Prep has won the seven consecutive state titles.

Last year, Jackson Prep defeated MRA 33-27 in the championship game. But MRA defeated Jackson Prep 34-22 this season.

“We just got to go in and do what we do,” Davis said. “Stay composed and stay confident and go in and execute.”

MRA last won a state title in 2004.

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