Laurel and its first-half offense was no match for Wayne County, nor was the extremely muddy playing conditions that could have hampered it.
Behind a 37-point first-half Friday night ‘Between the Bricks, Laurel downed Wayne County 37-6 in the first round of the MHSAA Class 5A playoffs.
“We played very well offensively in the first half,” said Laurel head coach Todd Breland. “We hit them quick tonight with a few surprises.”
Breland wasn’t exaggerating either. On Laurel’s first play from scrimmage, during a night where passing was not the ideal method of offense to use, sophomore quarterback Xavier Evans hit junior wide receiver Jeremiah Henderson 50 yards downfield to set up a 6-yard touchdown run by senior running back Zias Perryman. The senior back followed the quick two-play scoring drive with a successful two-point rush to gave Laurel an 8-0 lead.
Perryman led Laurel’s offense with three rushing touchdowns. The Tornadoes final two scores of the first half were runs by Perryman of eight and 11 yards.
The mud and the muck plagued Wayne County early on. Back-to-back offensive drives by the War Eagles resulted in a turnover of downs after bad snaps on the punt attempt caused its punter to throw the ball to receivers near the line of scrimmage. Laurel’s defense quickly smothered the plays before a first down could be gained.
Breland figured the muddy field would play to their advantage.
“We thought that might be to our advantage,” said Breland. “We’ve played these game here this year in the mud. I don’t know if it should have been an advantage, but we built it up to be.”
Laurel capitalized on the latter of the two Wayne County mishaps. Three plays later, Laurel’s other senior running back Micheal Terrell, charged into the end zone from two yards out. Another two-point play put the Tornadoes on top 16-0.
Nearly all of Laurel’s offensive scoring drives were quick and efficient. Of its five first-half scoring drives, three consisted of three plays or less.
“Our defense did a great job of getting the ball back to us so we could put the ball [into the end zone],” added Breland.
One such drive was completed within seconds. With 59 seconds left on the clock in the second quarter, Evans hit senior wide-out Sinclair Ulmer from 50 yards out to give Laurel a 30-0 lead after a successful PAT. The one-play scoring drive was proceeded by another following an interception by Laurel’s defense that gave them the football back with less than 40 seconds to go till halftime.
“No one player stood out to me tonight,” Breland said. “It was a total team effort.”
Laurel advances in the playoffs and will face Picayune in round two next Friday night on the road.
“We’re very familiar with Picayune,” said Breland. “And they are familiar with us. It feels good to get to play another week of football between the bricks. Hopefully, it will be a little more dryer.”
