Sports

Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009

Playoff positioning

Three teams in 4-6A still have a shot at winning the region championship

George County, Harrison Central and Ocean Springs all have a shot at winning the Region 4-6A championship.

A George County victory over Ocean Springs on Friday night makes the Rebels (7-3, 5-1) the Region 4-6A champions because of their head-to-head victory over Harrison Central. The Red Rebels will be the second seed.

Should Ocean Springs (8-2, 5-1) beat George County and Harrison Central beats Hancock, the Red Rebels (9-1, 5-1) are Region 4-6A champions. Ocean Springs will be second.

Ocean Springs can win the Region 4-6A title with a Hawks’ upset victory over Harrison Central.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,’’ Greyhounds coach Todd Mangum said. “It’ll be tough playing at George County. They have a good team.”

Should George County lose and Petal (6-4, 4-2) beats Pascagoula tonight at War Memorial Stadium/Dutch Binion Field, the Panthers are third and Rebels finish fourth.

“Anybody can beat anybody in this region, there are no teams head and shoulders above everyone else,” Rebels coach Al Jones said. “We were first last week and could finish fourth.”

The Class 5A playoff bracket will also become clearer on Friday night.

Moss Point (8-2, 5-0) travels to Gautier (5-4, 4-1) for the Region 4-5A championship. Both teams are assured of hosting first-round playoff games next week.

The last two playoff spots in Region 4-5A are up for grabs. St. Martin clinches a playoff berth and the third seed with a victory over D’Iberville.

The Warriors would nail the fourth seed because they own the tiebreaker over East Central and Long Beach.

Should D’Iberville beat St. Martin and Long Beach defeats winless West Harrison, the Bearcats are playoff bound.

Picayune (6-3, 4-1) can clinch a first-round home game with a victory over Wayne County (8-2, 4-1) in a Region 3-5A contest at Memorial Stadium.