By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
OCEAN SPRINGS – Bray Hubbard was in tears as he hugged members of his family Friday night.
But these were tears of joy – and relief.
The Ocean Springs senior just about single-handedly willed his team to a cathartic victory in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs as the Greyhounds defeated Oak Grove 42-25, advancing to the South State finals for the first time since 2009.
The Greyhounds (12-0) will host Brandon next Friday for a chance to reach the state championship for only the second time in school history. Oak Grove finished its season 10-3.
“(Hubbard) is Mr. Football in 6A for a reason,” said Ocean Springs head coach Blake Pennock “He’s just a special player, and he really bowed up and did a great job for us tonight.
“In a big game like this, you want to put the ball in the hands of your best player, and he’s our guy.”
All Hubbard did was run 25 times for 257 yards and three touchdowns as Ocean Springs avenged last season’s disappointing finish, when the Warriors upset the then-undefeated Greyhounds 28-21.
“I just did what I had to do to lead this team,” said Hubbard. “I’m one of the leaders on this team, so in a big game like this, I’ve got to step up and compete at a higher level.”
Hubbard set the tone on the Hounds’ first possession of the game, however, after the defense forced a three-and-out to open the contest.
Hubbard completed a third-down pass over the middle to senior J.P. Coulter, who slipped a tackle and dashed untouched to the end zone for a 56-yard touchdown play.
After another three-and-out and a short punt, Hubbard used his legs this time on the first play of the drive, sweeping around right end and racing 70 yards down the sideline for a touchdown and a quick 14-0 lead.
“We practiced that play all week,” Hubbard said about the Greyhounds’ first score. “We worked on it all week, and we had a great game plan. There’s not much to say. I’m speechless.”
The Warriors found themselves down big early, and it was uphill the rest of the way.
“They just played better than us tonight,” said Oak Grove coach Drew Causey. “Our guys fought to the very end, and as a coach that’s all you can ask for, for guys to play hard and compete for four quarters and our guys did that tonight.”
Oak Grove finally got its offense going on the next possession, grinding out a drive that consumed more than eight minutes off the clock, but only produced a 31-yard field goal from Luke Stewart.
“We had a good defensive game plan,” said senior cornerback Will Gray. “We knew they had one really good receiver (Oak Grove senior J.Q. Gray), and we planned on targeting him and getting him out of the game.
“We have really good defensive linemen, and we knew they were going to fill the gaps and make the quarterback run out of the pocket.”
Ocean Springs had a chance to pad its lead late in the second quarter after driving from its own 8-yard-line to the Oak Grove 31, courtesy of a 29-yard pass from Hubbard to Coulter. However, Bart Edmiston’s 48-yard field goal attempt was wide left to end the first half.
Hubbard was efficient with his passing, completing 6 of 12 for 110 yards and a touchdown.
The Warriors had a golden opportunity to get back in the game after Hubbard was stripped of the ball on the Greyhounds’ opening drive of the second half, with junior Caleb Moore recovering for Oak Grove near midfield.
The Warriors took advantage of a face mask penalty to move the ball to the Greyhound 21, but on third-and-6, junior quarterback A.J. Maddox was sacked for a 16-yard loss and Oak Grove was forced to punt.
“That really hurt,” said Causey. “If we could have scored there, you just never know what happens. So that was big. We had momentum and we lost it because we didn’t score.”
And Hubbard made the Warriors pay on the ensuing possession, as he dashed 53 yards for a touchdown to increase the Greyhounds’ lead to 21-3.
Ocean Springs seemed to have things well in hand as the fourth quarter began, although the Warriors were driving. But then things got weird.
On the first play of the quarter, junior P.J. Woodland took a reverse 13 yards for a Warrior touchdown to cut the margin to 21-10.
On the ensuing kickoff, Coulter slipped as received the kick, downing the ball at the 8-yard-line, and on the next play, Ocean Springs fumbled a reverse play and the play resulted in a safety.
Senior J.Q. Gray then took the free kick at the 20-yard-line, broke into the open field, tiptoed down the sideline and took it all the way to the end zone for an 80-yard scoring play.
Just like that, Oak Grove had closed the margin to 21-19 and had momentum firmly on their side.
“We had a little personnel change, where Coulter went down with some cramps on the kickoff that set us back,” said Pennock. “Then we just had a series of bad plays, and that got them back in the game. But I was proud of the way we responded.”
Indeed. That’s when Hubbard retook command of the game.
Starting at the Greyhound 46, Hubbard ran six of the next seven plays, scoring on a vintage 20-yard touchdown run, breaking three tackles on his way to the end zone and giving the Greyhounds some breathing room at 28-19.
“Coach Pennock always says we’re going to face adversity on games like there,” said Hubbard. “But you’ve got to respond, you’ve got to stay up and you cannot let something like that bring you down.
“I was mad for a second, but then I said, you know what, it’s a long game, I’ve got to play four quarters. So I just had to step up and do my thing.”
And it was the Greyhound defense that did the rest.
Oak Grove drove to the Ocean Springs 32, but on third down, Maddox was sacked for a 4-yard loss, and on the next play, Gray jumped the route, picked off the pass and motored 74 yards for a back-breaking score.
“Both their receivers went kind of deep and I just checked them on the post behind me,” said Gray. “I stepped right in front of it, caught the ball and just took it to the house.
“This feels great. We’ve been looking for this game ever since we lost to them last year and I’m really happy to beat them.”
Three plays later, junior Trace Carter picked off another pass and took this one 34 yards for a touchdown.
The Greyhounds made life miserable for Maddox, who completed 14 of 29 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown. That came on the next series, an 8-yard strike to senior Damon Lee. But the Greyhounds recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
“We just didn’t do a great job blocking their front,” said Causey. “They got a lot of pressure on us and got (Maddox) on the run. He made some unbelievable throws on the run.
“We had a drop early on the first drive on a vertical route, and if we catch that, who knows what happens. They just made more plays than us tonight, and they were the better team.”
The Warriors have a solid nucleus of players returning, so Causey expects his team to continue to compete for a championship.
“The talent is great and we’re going to have a lot of it coming back,” said Causey. “For me, it all depends on how we start when we get back from Thanksgiving, how we work, how we remember this feeling.”
For Ocean Springs, however, the future is now, as the Greyhounds prepare for Brandon, which defeated Warren Central 36-28 Friday night.
“It feels good (to finally beat Oak Grove),” said Pennock. “This has been a goal for us., but it doesn’t stop here. The goal is to win the title.
“So we’re going to enjoy this one tonight and put it to bed on Sunday and start getting ready for Brandon.”
GAME SUMMARY
Friday at Ocean Springs
Ocean Springs 42, Oak Grove 25
Oak Grove 0 3 0 22 – 25
Ocean Spgs. 14 0 7 21 – 42
First Quarter
OS – Bray Hubbard 56 pass to J.P. Coulter (Bart Edmiston kick), 9:40 (4 plays/56 yards/1:24 possession).
OS – Hubbard 70 run (Edmiston kick), 7:48 (1/70/0:08).
Second Quarter
OG – Luke Stewart 31 field goal, 7:17 (19/50/8:39).
Third Quarter
OS – Hubbard 53 run (Edmiston kick), 6:01 (3/85/1:18).
Fourth Quarter
OG – P.J. Woodland 13 run (Stewart kick), 11:52 (13/80/6:09).
OG – Safety, runner tackled in end zone, 11:46.
OG – J.Q. Gray 80 kickoff return (Stewart kick), 11:33.
OS – Hubbard 20 run (Edmiston kick), 8:04 (7/54/3:29).
OS – Will Gray 74 interception return (Edmiston kick), 5:03.
OS – Trace Carter 34 interception return (Edmiston kick), 3:29
OG – A.J. Maddox 8 pass to Damon Lee (Run failed), 3:29 (6/80/0:48
TEAM STATISTICS
OG OS
First downs 20 14
Total net yards 251 374
Rushes-yards 38-109 32-264
Passing yards 142 110
Comp-Att-Int 15-30-2 6-12-0
Fumbles-lost 2-0 3-1
Penalties-yards 8-70 8-98
Punts-total (avg.) 5-168 (33.6) 1-38 (38.0)
Sacks 2-14 2-20
Third down 6-15 4-6
Fourth down 2-2 0-0
Time of possession 29:41 18:19
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Oak Grove– J.Q. Gray 9-35, Tajii Burkett 7-34, Kylin Champagne 13-25, P.J. Woodland 1-13, A.J. Maddox 7-3, Team 1-(-1); Ocean Springs – Bray Hubbard 25-257, Will Gray 1-10, Blake Watson 3-9, Team 2-(-4), Jacolby Bailey 1-(-8).
Passing
Oak Grove– A.J. Maddox 14-29-2-141, Jack Crawford 1-1-0-1; Ocean Springs – Bray Hubbard 6-12-0-110.
Receiving
Oak Grove – Damari Jefferson 4-40, Damon Lee 2-24, P.J. Woodland 1-23, Nehemiah Taylor 1-22, J.Q. Gray 3-16, Tajii Burkett 2-9, Kylin Champagne 1-7; Ocean Springs – J.P. Coulter 2-85, Will Gray 3-15, Wyatt Finley 1-10.
Photos courtesy of Jesse Johnson
