“A Look Ahead”: 7 games in the “Southern 6” to keep an eye on this week

Due to recent expansion in classifications by the MHSAA, the next two weeks are kind of uncharted territory of sorts for many prep football teams across the state including most of the squads in the “Southern Six”.

That’s because most teams affected by the expansion went from playing seven league games in an eight-team region to playing five region games in a six-team league. Meaning that they had to find two more out-of-region games to complete an 11-game regular season schedule. It also means that instead of most starting their region slate either this week or next in most cases, league play for most now doesn’t start until the first Friday in October.

With all of that in mind…

Here are 7 games in the “Southern 6” to keep an eye on this week:

1. Ocean Springs at Picayune — A pair of highly-ranked teams in the “Super 7 in the Southern 6” Poll face off at Lee-Triplett Stadium this week as both the Maroon Tide and Greyhounds stand at 3-1 after four weeks of play. This marks the 23rd all-time meeting between these two teams on the gridiron, and the renewal of the series after an 11 year layoff. This, however, is just the fifth time the teams have faced off in the past 30 years. Although they aren’t really familiar foes, each team is amidst perhaps the best span ever on the football field for either team, as Picayune is the two-time defending back-to-back Class 5A state champs and the Greyhounds have won 28 out of their past 30 regular season games.
2. Hancock at Vancleave — The Hawks fly into Jackson County as one of the only two unbeaten squads in the “Southern Six” after four weeks of play. It appears on paper to be a match-up of two teams headed in completely opposite directions, as the Bulldogs are 1-3 and have suffered three consecutive losses after a season-opening win over still winless St. Martin. Hancock is looking to expound upon its first 4-0 start in 23 years, which was also the last time they started a season off at 5-0. Vancleave, which is off to its second 1-3 start in three seasons, is looking to avoid dropping to 1-4 for the first time since 2017.
3. Pascagoula at Biloxi — Most folks just might assume that arch-rivals Biloxi and Gulfport have faced each other more time than any other opponent in football, and they’d be correct as the teams have played around 100 times. However, that’s not the case with Pascagoula and its longtime arch-rival Moss Point, as actually the Indians are the Panthers longest all-time rival and this week marks the 99th meeting ever between the two schools. Both squads are coming off losses, and look to get back on the winning track this week.
4.  East Central at S. Martin — A pair of squads desperately seeking success face off in west Jackson County, as the winless Yellow Jackets at 0-4 host the Hornets who are off to an uncharacteristic mediocre 2-2 start. East Central has actually swapped losses and wins over the first four weeks of the season, as it marks the first time in eight seasons that ECHS has started a season off at 2-2. This is the renewal of a long-standing county rivalry between a pair of teams on the opposite end of the county. This is the 59th all-time meeting between the schools, but the first since 2016.

   

5. Moss Point at West Harrison — Also a meeting between two teams with completely opposite records, as the 3-1 Hurricanes host the 1-3 Tigers in week five action. This is just the fifth meeting ever between the schools in the 15-season history of the WHHS program. The teams haven’t played in 12 years, since 2011, and West Harrison has never beaten Moss Point on the gridiron.
6. Bay High at Pearl River Central — Same song, third verse as far as speaking of teams in need of a win. The Tigers carry a 1-3 mark to Carriere, and the Blue Devils have lost eight straight games and 13 out of the last 14 games dating back to the first week of last season. PRC is one of only two winless teams left in the “Southern Six”, along with St. Martin.
7. West Jones at Poplarville — A rare regular season meeting between this pair of perennial South State powers albeit in different classes for most of those years. The Hornets and Mustangs haven’t met in 15 years, since 2008, and this is just the fourth game between the schools on the gridiron in the past 50 years. West Jones comes in at 4-0, and Poplarville is 3-1 with three straight wins.