Patrick’s Picks: Who wins East Central-Biloxi and Picayune-D’Iberville?

The East Central football team mowed down opponents on its way to a Class 4A South State title in 2017 and the first team to fall victim to the Hornets was Biloxi in a 24-10 contest in Hurley.

The Indians will hope to turn the tables and improve to 2-0 under first-year head coach Katlan French on Friday in Biloxi.

While East Central sat out the first week of the regular season, Biloxi is coming off a dominant 42-7 victory over St. Stanislaus in the Shrimp Bowl.

Biloxi has had a stiff defense the last two years, but struggled to put enough points on the board. With junior Cincere Jupiter taking over at quarterback and senior Alizha Syas carrying the load at running back, Biloxi will be a handful in Region 4-6A.

East Central has the pieces in place to defend its 4A South State championship, but Friday night’s game will provide an immediate challenge.

My prediction: Biloxi 24, East Central 20.

Here’s how I see the rest of Friday’s games panning out:

Picayune 31, D’Iberville 28: The Maroon Tide showed they’re again ready to contend in Class 5A with last week’s 28-20 win over previous Sun Herald No. 1 Poplarville. Picayune has a solid offensive line that should pave the way against D’Iberville (1-0), which will need another impressive performance from junior quarterback Jaden Walley.

Vancleave 28, West Harrison 17: Few Coast teams had a more impressive start to the 2018 campaign than Vancleave, which bulldozed Forrest County AHS 45-14 in the season opener. Senior athlete C.J. Johnson ran 13 times for 123 yards, three touchdowns and two 2-point conversions last week for the Bulldogs.

Stone High 21, Harrison Central 14: Like East Central, Friday night’s game will open the season for Stone High. Senior running back Trey Arrington will likely be carrying the load for the Tomcats this season. Harrison Central will look for a spark on offense after losing 17-7 to Jefferson Davis County last week.

Gulfport 28, Petal 24: Senior quarterback T.Q. Newsome showed signs of major progress in Gulfport’s 14-0 win over George County last week, completing 10-of-11 passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 13 times for 74 yards. Petal (0-1) is coming off a 35-26 loss to Hattiesburg.

St. Martin 27, Tylertown 13: The Yellow Jackets will look to improve to 2-0 after pitching a 23-0 shutout at Forest Hill in Jackson last week. Class 3A Tylertown appears set to lose to a second consecutive Class 6A team from the Coast after falling 42-22 at D’Iberville a week ago.

Hancock 31, South Jones 14: The No. 2 Hawks will try to get some momentum on offense after having to rally for a 10-7 win at Pearl River Central last week. Sumrall overwhelmed South Jones 36-7 in the opener.

George County 13, Greene County 10: George County can hang with anybody thanks to a tough defense led by defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson, but the Rebels are still looking for their first points of the season. Greene County is 0-1 after dropping a 25-14 decision at West Lauderdale.

Moss Point 31, Gautier 27: This is one of the more underrated rivalries on the Coast with two programs that don’t care for each other. The Tigers got off to a very impressive start with a 36-6 thumping of rival Pascagoula. Gautier (1-0) has a nice mix of playmakers led by senior athlete Kameron Kincaid.

Poplarville 24, Pearl River Central 10: This will be an interesting matchup for both coaching staffs. New PRC head coach Jacob Owen previously served as Poplarville head coach Jay Beech’s offensive coordinator. The Blue Devils showed a tough defense last week against Hancock, but will need to get the Wing-T offense going to hang with the Hornets.

Madison Central 31, Ocean Springs 14: Ocean Springs suffered a season-opening setback against Gautier and Madison Central is still stinging after dropping a 14-7 game to Brandon.

Pass Christian 35, Lanier 13: Pass Christian junior quarterback Dustin Allison should have the respect of the rest of Class 4A after throwing for 234 yards and one touchdown and running 12 times for 86 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-31 victory at Long Beach. The Pirates may be a contender in 8-4A.

Gulf Breeze 31, Pascagoula 10: Gulf Breeze beat Pascagoula 36-0 last year. After the Panthers got off to a rough start against Moss Point last week, it’s hard to see them making a quick turnaround in Week 2.

Resurrection 35, Chickasaw (Ala.) 17: If you expected Resurrection to take a significant step back this year, you were wrong. The Eagles grabbed the attention of the rest of Class 1A by beating a tough Class 2A program in Perry Central, 51-45.

Lumberton 31, Bay High 17: Lumberton have always been one of the more talented teams in Class 1A. Bay High has proven more competitive in the jamboree and in a 22-21 loss to West Harrison, but Lumberton will be tough to handle.

Sun Herald Top 5

1. Picayune (1-0)

2. St. Martin (1-0)

3. Gulfport (1-0)

4. Poplarville (0-1)

5. Hancock (1-0)

This story was originally published August 23, 2018 at 5:50 AM.