25 Teams in 25 Days: Picayune Maroon Tide
In true Maroon Tide fashion, the Picayune football team is coming off yet another impressive season, finishing 10-3 and capturing its fifth consecutive district title. Unfortunately, the season ended one week too soon, with the Maroon Tide falling to Hattiesburg in the South State Championship. Picayune graduated a ton of talent from last year’s team, but like clockwork, the next men up are ready to carry the torch — with a veteran senior class leading the way.
“We don’t return a whole lot of starters, but we return a lot of supporting cast guys. A lot of guys who are going to get their opportunity for the first time ever to start and play a more specific role. Right now, we’re returning four on offense and four on defense, but they’re four really good players, and almost all of them are pretty much three-year starters. They do a good job of bringing everybody else up to speed. We’re going to be young in a lot of areas, and we’re going to have to rely on a lot of sophomores to step into a lot of positions. But those guys have been in our program since the seventh grade, and they’ve been running our system since Pee Wee football around here. So, there are high expectations for this sophomore group, and I think it comes down to the senior leadership we have,” said Head Coach Cody Stogner.
One thing that hasn’t changed at Lee-Triplett Stadium is a stellar running back room. A familiar face for Tide fans is rising senior running back Xavier Dennis, one of the top ten returning running backs in the nation after rushing for more than 2,800 yards last season. Although he’s one of the few veterans returning this year, the Picayune standard remains the same.
“The goals are set real high. We don’t set just mediocre goals. We set extraordinary goals, and it’s obviously to play in Starkville that first Thursday in December. So, that’s always the motivation. We know we can’t do it all at one time. We’ve got to take it one game at a time and one day at a time. Our mindset since the summer has been, we have to make sure we’re winning every day. We can’t live in the past, and we can’t worry about the future, because we’ve got to be where our feet are right now. And I really like these guys, especially the senior leadership, taking that role and saying, ‘We’ve got to focus on where we’re at now,’” said Coach Stogner.
“It’s really a standard. You’ve got to set the standard. You can’t just be Picayune football and think, ‘I’m going to do the bare minimum.’ We’re not a bare-minimum team. We’re not a below-the-bar team. We’re above the bar, and we push and strive to be the best. I feel like we’re taking every rep as a game rep. They always say you practice how you play, so we practice with greatness and we play like greatness,” said Jakob Nixon.
“Picayune is football, honestly. Every Friday, everybody comes out here to see us win, so we’ve got to put on a show,” said Akiylan Burnett.
And for their final season together, this group of seniors wants nothing more than to finish their careers with a gold ball in hand.
“A playoff run, having the experience with the guys one last time, and hopefully making it to state. We will make it to state,” said Burnett.
“I’ve been playing since my freshman year, and we’ve fallen short three years in a row. It’s my senior year, and it’s my last year and last ride. So, we’ve got to get us one of these trophies and hold it up in December,” said Nixon.
“This group is fun. This senior group has won a lot of football games, and they’ve been really successful. They’ve been knocking on that door the last couple of years, and I’m hoping this year, with all the hard work they’ve done since we left Hattiesburg last Thanksgiving, will be enough to push through,” said Coach Stogner.
The Picayune Maroon Tide will kick off the 2026 season on the road, taking on the defending Class 7A state champions of Gulfport High School
