Meridian quarterback Tevarrius Adams (1) keeps the ball for a Meridian gain during the Wildcats’ game against Oak Grove Friday.

Following an emotional win over rival Petal a week ago, Oak Grove topped another Region 3-6A opponent Friday night with a 37-6 victory over Meridian. 

Oak Grove started sluggishly on offense, opening with a timeout on its first play and two consecutive drives ending with a punt. In the first quarter, its only points came on senior Blake Ortego’s 34-yard field goal which was set up after the Wildcats muffed a punt in their own territory. 

The Warriors’ defense knew how dynamic Meridian and quarterback Tevarrius Adams could be, and in the first half the plan to contain him worked to perfection. 

After denying Meridian in the red zone early in the second quarter, Oak Grove seized all available momentum. Back-to-back explosive drives, each about  just a minute in length, gave the team instant, much-needed breathing room. 

The first touchdown came as quarterback John Rhys Plumlee kept a read option play and took it 75 yards for a score. Plumlee set up the second with a 56-yard completion down to the goal line, allowing junior running back Nick Milsap to grab six more from there. 

With two minutes to play in the first half, Plumlee also led an improbable scoring drive despite starting at his own 5-yard line. Six completions and a 25-yard rush later, he had found senior tight end Tyson Keys with seven ticks to go before the break to extend the Warriors’ lead to 23-0. By halftime, Plumlee had accounted for more than 300 yards of total offense and two touchdowns. 

“It’s kind of a blow when somebody can drive it down and get it in on you in two minutes,” Plumlee said. “They were playing good defense and they have really great athletes. It really was a good thing for us going into halftime.”

Late in the third quarter, Meridian managed to put points on the board with a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Tevarrius Adams. The Wildcats fought hard in the late going, and the two sides lost composure for a moment. In a talk with his team to reign in the emotion, head coach Drew Causey challenged his players to rise to a higher level. 

“I told them that we’re playing for a lot more than this ballgame,” Causey said. “We don’t need anybody to get ejected or anything like that. I just challenged them to play with character and play with class and they did that.” 

Plumlee and E.J. Newell contributed rushing touchdowns of nine yards and five yards respectively in the fourth quarter to seal the Warriors’ 37-6 victory.

Next week, Oak Grove goes on the road to face Terry before returning home for a two-game homestand against Brandon and Pearl.