A clash of styles met in Jasper County Friday evening as the Class 5A Laurel Tornadoes made their way to Bay Springs to face off against the Class 2A Bulldogs.
The spread-happy Tornadoes came away with a 26-20 victory after a valiant effort from Bay Springs who scored 14 points in the final quarter with their physical Wing-T offense.
Laurel head coach Ryan Earnest saw several things they needed to work out, despite being happy getting the win.
"I saw things I was not pleased with. I didn't think we came out with a lot of energy or focus. That starts with me as the head coach, so I've got to do a better job of getting these guys ready," said Earnest. "We have a lot of work to do."
Laurel had a total of four turnovers in the game, with their first coming on their opening drive as they fell short of the first down marker which resulted in Bay Springs driving down the field to take a 6-0 lead when Ty Jones scored from two yards out.
Things changed in the second quarter as Xavier Evans found the endzone three different times within the final eight minutes of the half, scoring on a 25-yard receiving today touchdown from Dexter Scott, then two rushing touchdowns, one from six yards out and the other from 11 yards out.
"That's just what he [Evans] does. He's the type of player to provide a spark like that. We wanted to try and rest him in the second half, but things got closer than we needed it to, so we had to call on him there to finish it. He's a great player," noted Earnest.
Laurel's only second-half touchdown came quickly out of the gate when Scott, flushed to his right, found Kanarius Johnson for a touchdown, marking the Tornadoes with their fourth touchdown of the night and 26 straight points. The PAT try was fumbled.
Both teams traded turnovers in the third when Charles Carr came up with a Bulldogs interception, while Laurel recovered a Bay Springs fumble with under a minute to play.
Bay Springs scores twice in the final quarter, once when Anthony Newell scrambled, fumbled, and the ball found its way into the endzone where fellow Bulldog Chase Wilson recovered it. Newell connected with tight end Eddie Payton from 15-yards out with 3:10 remaining in the game to cut the lead to 26-20, still, Laurel was able to pick up enough first downs to run out the remaining minutes on the clock.
"If you're going to advance deep into the playoffs you're going to have to beat someone who plays this style of football," said Earnest about the ground-and-pound style Bay Springs plays. "That was the thinking behind scheduling this game. To get a look at a team that runs this offense well. We got a really good look at it tonight. Coach Brady does a good job of running the Wing-T. It will help us down the road."
Bay Springs head coach Dan Brady was proud of the way his team fought, and like Earnest, believed seeing a team who ran a spread-style offense would benefit his team moving forward in the 2A playoffs as they are set to play Wesson.
"I think it will help us tremendously. Being able to play a quality opponent like Laurel, they have so many athletes on the field. Just being able to see the speed on the field, I wanted to play this game because at the end of the day playing this game is going to give our team a bit of an edge. Wesson is a great team, but there aren’t many in the state that can run out the players that Laurel can," said Brady. "We came out injury-free and we are going to get one of our better defensive linemen back next week, so I'm just proud of my kids and their effort they showed against a 5A team. They gave us a chance to win."
What’s next
Both teams ended their regular season tonight and will look towards the playoffs with Laurel having a bye before they take back to the gridiron. Bay Springs is scheduled to play Wesson next week.
