PASCAGOULA -- Top-ranked Picayune entered the C Spire Bright Lights game Thursday against No. 2 Pascagoula at War Memorial Stadium without its best offensive performer.
That meant someone had to step up to offset the loss of injured running back Preston Dedeaux (747 rushing yards and eight touchdowns) if the Maroon Tide were to post their 13th consecutive win dating back to Oct. 14, 2011.
The Maroon Tide filled the void by committee with four different players scoring touchdowns en route to a 49-10 win behind 383 rushing yards.
Picayune improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in Region 4-5A play while the Panthers dropped to 5-1 and 3-1.
"I think our kids took it on themselves to pick it up,'' Picayune coach Dodd Lee. "We get him (Dedeaux) back in two weeks. What we have to do is keep the attitude that we can get better.
"A lot of it has to do with the offensive line. They are the heart and soul of this team.''
The Maroon Tide turned the ball over on downs and punted on their first two offensive possessions.
It was the next two possessions that saw the Maroon Tide turn a 3-0 deficit into a 14-3 halftime lead they would never relinquish.
The first score was a 13-yard run off a keeper by quarterback Benjamin Hickman at the 8:32 mark of the second quarter that capped off a 10-play, 80-yard drive.
The second score took nine seconds off the clock when Doug Cross, filling in for Dedeaux, scored on a 66-yard inside veer to give Picayune a 14-3 lead.
"Someone had to fill in and pick up the slack,'' Doug Cross said. "Why not me? Somebody had to lead the lead and I felt I was the one to lead the team.
"All the credit goes to the offensive line. Stepping up is something we had to do a a team. If we didn't step up as a team we would not be as good as we are.''
Picayune then put the game away on its opening drive of the second half when Hickman threw a 32-yard scoring pass to third-team tailback Kardarius Cross for a 21-3 lead with 6:13 left in the third.
That drive, which covered 80 yards on 11 plays, saw the Maroon Tide convert two fourth down opportunities, including a fourth and 11 on Hickman's scoring pass.
Hickman would account for his third score when he threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Desmond Taylor with 1:56 left in the third for a 28-3 lead.
But the Maroon Tide were not finished.
After a Panthers touchdown, Kardarius Cross added his second touchdown, a 14-yard run with nine minutes left in the game for a 35-10 lead. Taylor scored two late touchdowns for the 49-10 final.
As the TV broadcast came to a close, Doug Cross had rushed for 201 yards on 20 carries.
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