When Mason Kendrick’s number has been called in the past, the Purvis quarterback has not disappointed, and last Friday night was no different.
With starter Ty Howell out with an injury, Kendrick stepped in and led the Tornadoes to a 42-41 overtime win over Mendenhall in the first round of the 4A playoffs. The junior signal-caller threw for 151 yards and three touchdowns in the win. He also ran for 66 yards and another score, while adding four tackles on defense. For his efforts, Kendrick has been named our Sports601 Hattiesburg Player of the Week.
The performance did not surprise Purvis head coach Perry Wheat.
“Mason’s done that several times in the past. He’s actually been a defensive starter and worked at quarterback,” Wheat said. “He started about seven games for us last year at quarterback and did a great job. He’s came in twice this year and done an outstanding job both times.”
“The thing that makes it impressive is that Mason doesn’t get the reps our starter gets,” Wheat added. “But he’s just an intelligent football player and is able to get in there and do his job. We’re real proud of the job he did.”
With Purvis trailing 35-27 late in the fourth quarter, Kendrick put together a touchdown drive to pull the Tornadoes to within two points. The clock had expired, so a two-point conversion was needed to send the game into overtime. Again, Kendrick was the man for the job.
“Coach actually called a timeout I think,” Kendrick recalled. “Then he came over, and I was wanting him to give me the ball, because I wanted to get it in and knew we could. We had been running that play all night, and it had been working for us. He said, ‘Alright, we can run it’.”
“We ran it and got it.”
In overtime, Mendenhall scored first but failed on a two-point conversion attempt. Purvis then tied it, 41-41, on a Kendrick-CJ Bolar touchdown connection. Brian Bennett’s ensuing extra point gave the Tornadoes the win, 42-41.
Kendrick called the win a confidence-booster heading into the second round.
“I’m confident in my team for sure. And our offensive line played outstanding,” Kendrick said. “That was big for us.”
As for his performance?
“I knew my job. In practice I just watched and got mental reps,” Kendrick added. “I know where my playmakers are. Get the ball to them.”
Kendrick and the Tornadoes (5-6) will look to keep it going Friday night at Florence (8-4).
