In Region 3-6A, Pearl River Central begins the John Feaster era in Carriere.
The new football coach of the Blue Devils is returning to his Pearl River County roots in an effort to rebuild the PRC program.
Feaster, a former Blue Devils assistant, left Moss Point in May as coach to also become the athletic director at PRC.
Feaster is the third coach in the last three years for the Blue Devils, who haven’t made the postseason since 2015—which is also the last time PRC had a winning season.
Feaster, who spent the majority of his head coaching career at Stone High, posting a 39-34 record, is very familiar with high school football in Pearl River County. He had a standout prep career at Picayune and was a defensive coordinator at his alma mater as well as at PRC.
The expectations in Year One of the Feaster era are to see improvement from week to week.
“I hope to see growth,” said Feaster. “I understand what they’ve been through for the last several years. But if we play our best each and every week, I take that as a win this year.”
Feaster said the strength of his squad is the youth, and the Blue Devils are hungry to learn and win.
“We are a very young team,” said Feaster. “We have a few seniors, but we are young. But sometimes when you’re young, you haven’t experienced that losing so that could be a good thing.”
The Blue Devils are in a region that includes the reigning 6A state champions.
The West Jones Mustangs posted a 5-0 mark in 3-6A on their way to claiming the state crown in 2023. And the Mustangs are heavy favorites to repeat as the region champs.
“West Jones has consistently always been good for as long as I can remember,” said Feaster. “They’re at a high point, coming off a state championship.”
Feaster said Hattiesburg might be the most talented team in the region.
“They have a lot of Power 5 players with offers,” said Feaster.
He said that “Terry traditionally has a lot of great athletes and they make very few mistakes.”
He said Forest Hill has some talented athletes.
“But I like our chances,” said Feaster. “I know it’s going to be tough, but maybe we can try and crack through. It’s been a long time.”
PRC opens its season on Aug. 30 at South Pike.
Here are the results of a coaches poll predicting the order of finish in the Region 3-6A:
West Jones
Hattiesburg
Terry
Forest Hill
Jim Hill
PRC
