Oak Grove knocks off Brandon, reaches MHSAA football championship
BRANDON — Oak Grove quarterback AJ Maddox ended Friday night's semifinal the same way he started it, with a touchdown.
The senior had a 40-yard rushing touchdown on the Warriors' third play of the game. Maddox then scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 3-yard score.
Oak Grove (12-1) beat Brandon (10-3) in the MHSAA Class 7A semifinal game 49-45, sending them to the state's first Class 7A championship game. There, Oak Grove will play last year's Class 6A state champion Starkville (10-3) at 7 p.m. on Dec. 2 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford.
"Just proud of our kids, our coaches," Oak Grove coach Drew Causey said. "This (game) was a dog fight. We jumped out early, and they fought back, but we stayed resilient."
Oak Grove held the lead for every minute of Friday night's game until late in the fourth quarter when Brandon blocked a punt on Oak Grove's 20-yard line which led to a Nate Blount rushing touchdown, putting Brandon up 45-42 with five minutes to play.
A sense of deja vu hovered around Causey and his team after being in the same spot earlier in the season.
"We've been in a situation before (against Hoover)," Causey said. "We got stopped on fourth down, they blocked a punt, scored 10 plays later, and then we took the ball and drove it down and scored. ... Our kids didn't blink, and they knew how to react. They knew how to handle it, and they did a great job."
Not under pressure, Oak Grove capped off the semifinal game with a 70-yard scoring drive and stopped Brandon on its next possession on a 4th-and-two with a minute left to secure its fourth state title appearance in six years.
Maddox, a Texas A&M commit, helped lead Oak Grove on offense, scoring three rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns. He will compete in his first state title game and aim to be the catalyst in Oxford he's been all season.
"Whatever it takes to win," Maddox said. "That's all I care about. I love my teammates and my community. ... This is my first time winning the south state game. I'm just excited, and I'm ready to get to work next week."
MHSAA CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRINGS: Mississippi high school football state championship schedule 2023: MHSAA football playoffs pairings
MHSAA SEMIFINAL SCORES: Mississippi high school football scores: MHSAA football playoffs semifinals scoreboard 2023
Oak Grove avenges early loss
Oak Grove's semifinal win avenged a 38-20 loss to Brandon in Week 7 of the season.
Gaining much-needed feedback from that defeat, running back Kylin Champagne and others on Oak Grove believed it helped them come out on top in Friday night's game, from film sessions to practices.
"It was a lot of things from that game," Champagne said. "We watched a lot of film on the game and we picked up a lot of different things that we could have did differently, and that's what we came out and did today. We came out and executed and that helped us beat this great team."
Michael Chavez covers high school sports, among others, for the Clarion-Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: MHSAA football playoffs: Oak Groves beats Brandon in 7A semifinals
