Sports - High School

Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009

Admirals-Indians go prime time

Tuesday morning was a good chance for some good-natured ribbing as Cellular South held its press conference for Friday’s televised Biloxi-Gulfport football game — the fifth televised game of the “Y’all vs. Us’’ series.

In addition to representatives from Cellular South, the press conference featured Biloxi coach Steve Jones and Gulfport coach Mike Justice, Biloxi superintendent Paul Tisdale and Gulfport superintendent Glen East, Biloxi principal Pam Manners and Gulfport principal Michael Lindsey, and Biloxi mayor A.J. Holloway and Gulfport City Council president Ricky Dombroski, representing Gulfport mayor George Schloegel.

Kickoff is set for 7:20 p.m. Friday at Biloxi Stadium, and there will be pyrotechnics, skydivers and a jumbotron. Dave Armstrong, Matt Wyatt and Kim Tanner will call the action.

The game will be televised live on WLOX.

The previous four games in the “Y’all vs. Us’’ series were Madison Central at Clinton, Olive Branch at South Panola, Meridian at Oak Grove, and West Jones at Wayne County.

“This is a unique rivalry,’’ Gulfport coach Mike Justice said. “And I have coached in some good rivalries. It is unique because the two cities are divided by a street sign.

“We can be 6-5 and have a winning season. This game means a lot to our program. It will give us bragging rights on the Coast.’’

Biloxi coach Steve Jones is looking forward to matching wits with Justice, with whom he has coached with in the past.

“We are friends but we both have different goals Friday night,’’ Jones said. “This is an opportunity for us to redeem our season.’’

Holloway reminisced about the series, one in which he was a star player in the late 1950s. That included when he was ejected from the 1956 contest, and how Biloxi won the 1957 game before the fans spilled onto the field for the famous fight.

The good-natured wager between the two mayors is that Gulfport gets “Biloxi Bacon’’ or mullet if the Admirals win. Biloxi gets oysters if the Indians win.

Tisdale spoke of many famous Biloxi players and fans in the rivalry while East presented Tisdale with a Gulfport tee-shirt.

Gulfport will hold its pep rally on Thursday night at 6 p.m. by the Courthouse Road Pier. Biloxi will have a pep rally at the high school on Friday at 1:30 p.m.