No two games ever seem to be the same in the Battle for the Little Brown Jug between Hattiesburg and Laurel. In the span of four years, there’s been a 26-point, fourth quarter comeback, a game-saving goal line stand as time expired and most recently on Saturday night, a mid-game stadium evacuation after belief there were gunshots in the area.
When the Tigers and Tornadoes meet up, expect the unexpected. Also, a Hattiesburg win if going by the last five years.
Led by quarterback Jarod “Snoop” Conner, Hattiesburg edged Laurel for a fifth consecutive regular season on Saturday night at D.I. Patrick Stadium. Conner, a Memphis commit, ran for 218 yards and four scores, as the Tigers retained the Little Brown Jug with a 41-20 win.
Click on the link for video highlights and a postgame interview with Hattiesburg head football coach Tony Vance: https://youtu.be/4IFARCFCULY
The final score was not indicative of just how competitive the 97th meeting between the two schools was. With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Laurel pulled to within eight points of Hattiesburg at 28-20 when Michael Terrell scored on a 16-yard touchdown run.
The Tigers closed the ballgame out late though with a pair of scores, notably on a 78-yard kickoff return touchdown from Jairus McFarland.
“He [McFarland] has got some wheels, man,” said Hattiesburg coach Tony Vance. “He put them to work and took off. He got a few blocks, and rest of that was Jairus McFarland.
“Hats off to [Laurel] coach [Todd] Breland. We’re really good friends, and he always has his team ready to play, man. We know what we’re going to get when we play those guys. Great ballgame. It was an overflow crowd, and I think every one got their money’s worth.”
Breland’s Golden Tornadoes struck first late in the first quarter when quarterback Sinclair Ulmer scored on a 27-yard run. Right before the period ended, the Tigers tied it 7-7 on a 16-yard touchdown run from Conner.
Early in the second quarter, Hattiesburg defensive back Tadrian Leflore picked off Ulmer, and the Tiger offense capitalized on the mistake, taking a 14-7 lead after Drexlan Allen scored on a 10-yard run. That was the score at halftime.
On their first possession of the second half, Laurel turned it over again, and Hattiesburg, again, made them pay. Allen set up a first and goal at the one-yard line with a 26-yard scamper, and Conner finished it off with a one-yard touchdown, extending the Tiger lead to 21-7.
“That’s huge anytime you can create turnovers and put points on the board afterwards,” said Vance.
But Laurel was not done. Late in the third quarter, Zias Perryman scored on a one-yard run to make it a one possession game. And after another Conner touchdown, Terrell scored his aforementioned 16-yard touchdown to keep the Golden Tornadoes alive.
Shortly after Hattiesburg found some breathing room on McFarland’s kickoff return, play was stopped for about 10 minutes late in the fourth quarter for what many believed to be gunshots in the area. But many are of the belief now that a slamming of a car door created the hysteria and the ensuing evacuation of the stadium.
After the teams retook the field and about half of the original crowd returned, Hattiesburg put the game on ice when Conner scored his fourth touchdown of the night, giving Hattiesburg the 41-20 win.
“He [Conner] made plays when it was time for him to make plays,” said Vance.
Vance’s Tigers, who improved to 2-0 with the win, will hit the road for the first time this season next Friday at Moss Point. Laurel, now 1-1, will host Oak Grove.
