The 2023-24 high school soccer season has moved oh-so-close to the midpoint of region schedules and teams across the Southern Six are positioning themselves for playoff runs when the calendar flips.
A handful of region games highlight the final days of 2023 and, in several classifications, the top four in each region are starting to establish themselves as playoff teams.
All team records in this roundup are region marks.
In Region 4-7A, the Ocean Springs boys and girls sit atop the standings. The Greyhounds are 5-0 and coming off a 4-0 victory against D’Iberville.
The Gulfport Admirals picked up a big 4-1 victory over rival Biloxi and are in the two spot at 4-1. The Indians play at St. Martin on Friday night and are tied with the Yellow Jackets at 2-2.
Also on Friday night, D’Iberville and Harrison Central face off with each team looking to pick up its first region win.
On the girls side, things are much tighter with the Lady Greyhounds at 4-1, a half-game ahead of 3-1 Biloxi and St. Martin.
The Lady Indians and the Lady Yellow Jackets will meet Friday night and the winner will move into a first-place tie with the Lady Greyhounds. The loser of St. Martin-Biloxi will drop into a tie with Gulfport at 3-2.
The winner of Friday night’s D’Iberville-Harrison Central keeps its hopes alive heading into January.
In Region 4-6A, the Long Beach boys and girls teams are atop the standings.
The three-time defending state champion Bearcats are 4-0, lead George County by a game-and-a-half and own a 1-0 win over the Rebels.
George County travels to West Harrison (0-3) on Friday night and will look to solidify its hold on second place.
Hancock (1-2) plays at Pascagoula on Friday night.
On the girls side, George County is at West Harrison in a huge contest as each team is 2-1. They trail Long Beach, which is 4-0 in region play.
The Hancock-Pascagoula winner Friday night will slide into the fourth playoff spot in the region.
In Region 3-6A boys, the Picayune Maroon Tide is 4-0 and holds a two-game lead over West Jones.
On the girls side, Picayune (2-2) and Pearl River Central (1-1) trail West Jones (4-0).
Region 4-5A finds Stone leading the boys standings at 4-0 with East Central at 3-1 and in the second spot.
Gautier and Vancleave round out the top four at 2-2 while Laurel and Wayne County are winless in region play.
East Central picked up a big 4-2 win over Vancleave this week and Gautier has a chance to tighten up the region when it hosts Stone on Friday night. The Lady Hornets beat Vancleave 2-0 this week and are 3-0.
Gautier and Stone are tied at 3-1 ahead of their match on Friday.
Vancleave is in the fourth spot at 1-2. Laurel and Wayne County are winless.
The most wide-open region competition appears to be the girls race in 4-4A.
Pass Christian is 3-1 while Poplarville is 2-1. However, the Lady Hornets defeated the Lady Pirates 2-0 this week and would take over the top spot with a win Friday night over Bay High (2-2).
Greene County is 2-1 as well in a race that will have to sort itself out in January. The Lady Cats defeated Poplarville 2-1 this week.
The Bay High Tigers are 4-0 on the boys side and will host Poplarville (2-1) on Friday night.
Pass Christian moved into second place this week with a 4-1 win over the Hornets and improved to 3-1. Greene County and Moss Point will battle for the final playoff spot in the region.
In Class 1 Region 8, the St. Stanislaus Rock-A-Chaws and the St. Patrick Lady Irish are the boys and girls leaders with 4-0 records. The Lady Irish picked up big wins over OLA and Resurrection to move to the top of the standings.
Our Lady Academy finds itself tied with Sacred Heart for second place while the Lady Eagles are still in search of their first region victory.
On the boys side, Resurrection is also winless in region play and faces a tough test at St. Stanislaus on Friday.
St. Patrick is coming off a 3-0 win over the Eagles and faces Sacred Heart on the road Friday night. The Fighting Irish trail the Crusaders by a half-game for second in the standings.
