SB Live: Ocean Springs QB Bray Hubbard 'as advertised' in 31-13 win over Clinton Arrows

CLINTON — Clinton coach Judd Boswell doesn't mince words, so when he says Ocean Springs has a chance to make a run at a championship in 2022, you better believe it.

Boswell and his Arrows found out the hard way in Thursday night's season opener, with the Greyhounds earning a 31-13 win on the road.

"That's a really good team," Boswell said. "They are a lot more physical than they were last year, and the Hubbard kid is as-advertised. He's really special."

"The Hubbard kid" is reigning Mississippi Player of the Year Bray Hubbard, who started the season off on the right foot. The senior quarterback and University of Alabama commit completed 16 of his 18 pass attempts for 146 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 19 times for 148 yards and another score.

He led an Ocean Springs offense that is still a work in progress, not yet at the level of the well-oiled machine that averaged 42.5 points a game last season. There's new faces at key skill positions, but coach Blake Pennock said he knew his younger players were capable of stepping up.

"You're always nervous because you just haven't seen them do it in a game," he said. "You see them in practice and you know they are capable, but until you see it in a game, you're still a little unsure. We were a little sloppy tonight, but I was proud of how hard our guys played."

Clinton (0-1) had a lot to do with that sloppiness. The Arrows' defense dominated the line early in the game, and gave the Greyhounds some looks in the secondary they struggled to figure out.

But the Ocean Springs line got stronger as the game went on, and the holes started opening up in the second half.

"We didn't get a lot going in the passing game," Hubbard said. "But we did enough, and got a good push up front and we ran the ball really well."

Sophomore tailback Will Smith had a solid game in his first start, rushing 14 times for 69 yards and scoring a second-quarter touchdown that gave the Greyhounds a 14-6 lead going into the half.

The real story of the night was the Ocean Springs defense, which held Clinton to four first downs in the first half, then got two quick three-and-outs to start the second half while the offense built a 24-6 lead.

Clinton's first touchdown came on a short field after a blocked punt in the second quarter, and it's second came on a 63-yard touchdown run by Jakobe Calvin with 7:49 left in the game.

"We lost a little focus there... and we've got to do a better job of closing out the game there," Pennock said. "But we talked early in the preseason about us being a defensive-led football team, and I think that's what it was that carried us. We were slow getting going offensively, but I was super excited about the way the defense played."

Next up for the Greyhounds is a trip to the Hub City for a showdown with perennial 5A contender Hattiesburg. Clinton heads to Flowood next week for a date with Northwest Rankin.