Montana to Rice. Culpepper to Moss. Manning to Harrison.
Those quarterback to wide receiver combinations will live in infamy. Friday night, Damon Stewart and Brandon Hayes had one of those nights that will go down in Oak Grove fan's memories as one where they lifted each other up to greater heights and defeated a rival in the process.
Stewart found Hayes eight times, and four of those resulted in touchdowns for the Warriors as they defeated Hattiesburg 42-34.
“It was the preparation we had all week. We had a lot of focus going into each practice. We tried to make sure there was no playing around because we wanted to come into the game Friday night knowing what we needed to do to get the win,” said Stewart.
Stewart went 13-17 on the evening, totaling 308 passing yards and five touchdowns. He finished with a QBR of 157.5 and an average of 23.7 yards per attempt. His big night brings his total yards to 717 passing yards and 11 touchdowns through the air with a total of 12 touchdowns.
Stewart talked about going through the correct reads and Hayes being open at the right time while making sure to keep composed in front of a rowdy Hattiesburg crowd and team.
“It was all about going through progressions and reads. There aren’t many people that can guard Brandon in single coverage. Basically, it came down to making the right decisions. It was pretty tough because they had a ton of momentum coming out of the gate and the sideline. They were jumping, they were playing music, and the fans were cheering. We just stayed to doing what we normally do. I was just trying to keep everyone locked in on what we needed to do. I don't think there are a lot of people that can stop us on offense.”
Senior wide receiver Hayes was on the receiving end of most of Stewart’s passing yards, as he accumulated 220 yards and four touchdowns on eight receptions. His big night shot his yardage totals to 293 yards and five receiving touchdowns.
“They were single-covering me all night and I just did what needed to be done to take advantage of it. I’ve been laying back, just waiting for my turn, not worrying about myself. I just think about the team. Friday just happened to be my night and the team’s night. I’m just worried about winning. Not about my personal stats. Just seeing the team win, that is what it’s about,” said Hayes.
Head coach Drew Causey was proud of his players for competing all night against a scrappy Hattiesburg Tigers team.
“Both played well. Especially from the second quarter on. I think Brandon had four touchdowns and a couple of hundred yards receiving. Damon was over 70% completion rating. He does such a good job making plays with his feet and finding somewhere to throw it. I’m really proud of our whole football team. We played really hard once we settled down after the first quarter and found a way to win.”
Causey is more impressed with how all of his players are always looking to put the team first in every situation.
“We’ve got five or six wide receivers that we feel confident that any night could be their night. It stinks because every one of them can’t have a great night every single game because there is only one football. That makes it really easy though to trust those guys to make a play. We have a great team that cares about each other and plays for one another. That makes it fun to coach.”
Oak Grove will face another tough test this coming Friday as they play host to Archbishop Rummel this Friday night. Kickoff for that game is set for 7 pm.
