A few region champions were decided on the last two nights of prep football action this season, as we slip into what many teams hope to be a “November to Remember”.
However, there is at least one league title still to be contested before regular season play wraps up in the two largest classifications in the state as well as the smallest one.
Here are 7 things we noticed in the “Southern 6” to round out October:
- Back-to-back: Ocean Springs senior standout signal-caller Bray Hubbard ran for 195 yards and three touchdowns in the Greyhounds’ 58-33 win over visiting Gulfport to secure the second consecutive Region 4-6A title for head coach Blake Pennock’s squad. The Greyhounds extended their school record regular season winning streak to 19 straight games, and stand 9-0 on the season as well. It marked the first region loss for the Admirals this season.
- Coming up — Gautier has a stellar senior behind center as well in Kaden Irving, who celebrated his recent selection to compete in the prestigious Army All-American Bowl by accounting for five touchdowns in the first half in leading his Gators to a 35-0 home win over Pearl River Central. Irving threw for four scores and ran for another as Gautier rolled out to a commanding 35-0 halftime advantage and coasted to the win that sets up the Region 4-5A title tilt against Picayune next week.
- Defending champs – Picayune remained unbeaten at 9-0 on the season and 6-0 in Region 4-5A play as the reigning Class 5A state champs knocked off hap-less Long Beach 49-13. Brady Robertson threw for a trio of touchdowns in the win, and Chris Davis ran for a pair of scores. The Maroon Tide will host Gautier in a battle for the region crown next.
- Region race — All four spots are set in that aforementioned Region 4-5A playoff race. Vancleave secured a Class 5A state playoff berth with a 42-18 thumping of visiting West Harrison as senior standout tailback John Peterson blew past the Hurricanes for 202 yards rushing and four touchdowns. The Bulldogs will face long-time arch-rival East Central next week to decide the third and fourth seeds in the league. East Central pulled off an important win as well Friday, as both Grey Bradley and Andrew Marble cracked the century mark on the ground in a 28-20 win over visiting George County. Marble ran for 131 yards and three touchdowns, while Bradley added 119 yards. Both the Hornets and Vancleave will open the Class 5A state playoffs on the road, and each stands an identical 5-2 in league play heading into their head-to-head meeting.
- Rocked out — Visiting Jefferson Davis County, in its first-ever trip to Brother Phillip Stadium in Bay St. Louis, fought past a scrappy St. Stanislaus squad 12-7 in the battle for the Region 8-3A championship Thursday night. Both the Jaguars and the Rock-a-chaws will open the Class 3A state playoffs at home next week.
- Creative chaos — Resurrection was thought to be dead in the water as far as a chance at making the Class 1A playoffs was concerned after falling to Mt. Olive two games ago. But after Richton upset those same Pirates Friday night and the Eagles thumped West Lincoln 48-6, the race for the fourth and final postseason slot in Region 4-1A is much more crowded as numerous possibilities exist for one of the trio of RCS, Richton or MOHS to move on.
- Postseason play — Even though home-standing Biloxi dismantled Hancock 41-20 in Region 4-6A play as Indian quarterback Zach Marlin completed 16 of 17 pass attempts for 215 yards and two touchdowns, both the Hawks and Biloxi still secured berths in the upcoming Class 6A state playoffs.
