Oak Grove edges MHS
By By Tony Krausz/assistant sports editor
October 18, 2003
HATTIESBURG Meridian High School came within one yard and one play of upsetting the No. 3-ranked Oak Grove Warriors (8-0) Friday night.
With 10 ticks left on the clock, Wildcats senior running back Cordae Campbell, who gained 141 yards on 24 carries, brought the ball to the Warrior's 1-yard line.
Meridian High sophomore quarterback Justin Baylor, who completed 5-of-5 passes for 51 yards, appeared to spike the ball to stop the clock with about two seconds left in the game.
The ball bounced back up into the quarterback's hands, and the final horn blew handing the Wildcats (3-4) a 28-21 loss.
The loss was the second week in a row that Meridian High pushed a team in the top 10 to the limits.
The Wildcats fell to No. 7 Picayune last Friday 17-14 in overtime, and Meridian High didn't trail Oak Grove until the final 6:25 of the game.
Oak Grove running back Garry Pack gave his team the lead for the first time in the game with a 37-yard touchdown run for a seven-point advantage, with 6:25 left in the game.
The senior back, who gained 119 yards on 15 carries scored three times in the second half, also tied the game at 21 by getting into the end zone on a two-point conversion.
With 54 seconds left in the third quarter, Pack scored on a two-yard run to bring the Warriors to within 21-19 of the Wildcats' lead. Oak Grove had an extra-point kick blocked early in the third.
Pack pounded his way straight up the middle on both his touchdown run and the conversion run.
Pack scored the first touchdown of the second half on a four-yard run to cap an eight-play, 80-yard drive to reduce Meridian High's lead to 14-13, with 9:54 left in the third.
Campbell answered the score with a 36-yard touchdown run on the Wildcats' next series to take a 21-13 lead, with 3:47 left in the third quarter.
Meridian High used two long touchdown runs by sophomore running back Cordera Eason, who gained 138 yards on 13 carries, to take a 14-7 lead into halftime.
The sophomore tailback broke free to the left sideline on the Wildcats second play of the game from their 19-yard line.
Eason sprinted for 81 yards with a pack of Warrior defenders on his heels for the score and a 7-0 lead just 47 seconds into the game.
Eason made his way into the endzone for a second time in the opening half in the second quarter with a 48-yard touchdown run.
Meridian High had a chance to add three more points to its lead before halftime, after the Warriors fumbled a punt return on their own 25-yard line, with 19 seconds left in the half.
The Wildcats first attempt to line up for a field goal was stalled when kicker Andrew Gambrell failed to get onto the field after the punt.
Campbell wisely moved behind center and spiked the ball, since Meridian High was out of time outs, to allow Gambrell to get onto the field. Gambrell's 42-yard field goal attempt went wide left, and the Wildcats settled for a one-touchdown lead at the break.
Oak Grove scored its lone touchdown on a six-yard run by Brandon Newman, with 4:36 left in the first quarter to tie the game at seven. The short score was set up by a 46-yard run by Newman and a 15-yard penalty against Meridian High for a late hit out of bounds after the run.
