Ocean Springs has been a thorn in Oak Grove’s side for quite some time. Whether it be in the regular season or the playoffs, the Greyhounds have had a penchant for beating or eliminating the Warriors.
That recent history made Saturday all the more sweeter for Oak Grove, who finally got over that hump. Two second half goals keyed a 3-1 victory for the Warriors, as they turned the tables and played the role of the eliminator, beating Ocean Springs and therefore advancing to the Class 6A South State Championship.
Warrior head coach Jesse Lang says the win would rival any other in his coaching career or his players’ playing careers.
“It’s at the top, because we haven’t been there [South State] in a while. Maybe 2007 or 2008, so it’s been awhile,” Lang said. “None of these kids have been there. All of these kids have been put out in the second round every year. Three times by Ocean Springs and once by George County. It’s huge for us.”
Lang’s Warriors certainly looked determined to get the job done from the get-go. They struck first just two minutes into the match, as Adam Stone found the back of the net for his 14th goal of the season. Just a minute later though, Ocean Springs responded and tied it at 1-1. That would be the score heading into halftime.
As far as adjustments go, Lang says communication was a big topic of discussion at the intermission.
“What we talked about at halftime was that we were winning balls and kicking it to nowhere,” Lang said. “We said the reason we were doing that is because we were not talking to each other.
“We didn’t do a great job of that in the second half, but we were better. We connected on more passes in the second half than we did in the first.”
The second half scoring would certainly indicate that. With 25 minutes remaining, Oak Grove retook the lead off a corner kick header from Conner Trussell.
“On corners, kicks and throw-ins, he [Trussell] is our follow-up guy,” Lang said. “He chases the ball down and gets his head on it. He’s good at heading. He did, and he got something on it.”
The Warriors held on to that lead for the remainder and eventually tacked on another goal in the final minute of play. With an empty net, senior Hayden Mills beat Ocean Springs’ goalkeeper one-on-one for the final dagger, sending Oak Grove’s players and fans into a frenzy.
“He [Mills] is fast, fast, fast,” Lang said with a chuckle. “He got away from him on that one.”
“This is a confidence-booster for them going into the next round,” Lang added. “Hey, we beat Ocean Springs. We beat the team that’s put us out all the time. So they’re going to go in feeling pretty good.”
Oak Grove will face either Brandon or Gulfport for the Class 6A South State Championship. It could be at home or away Tuesday night.
“Hopefully it’s here,” Lang said. “We’ll have to be pulling for Brandon, because if Brandon wins, we’ll be here. If Gulfport wins, we’ll probably be at Gulfport.”
