Patrick’s Picks: D’Iberville aims to make statement vs. Madison Central

The D’Iberville football team has a chance to grab the attention of the rest of the state Friday night when it plays host to perennial contender Madison Central.

The Warriors are off to an impressive 2-0 start after thumping Tylertown 42-22 in the season opener and taking down previous Sun Herald No. 1 Picayune 49-33 last week.

Madison Central stands at 1-1 after losing 14-7 in the season opener at Brandon (2-0) and toppling Ocean Springs 35-10.

With junior quarterback Jaden Walley leading the way, D’Iberville will have no problem scoring points this season. He has thrown for 259 yards and two touchdowns and run for 283 yards with four scores.

On defense, D’Iberville has some things to clean up after giving up 537 yards on the ground to the Maroon Tide last week.

Madison Central features a gifted junior quarterback in Jimmy Holiday, who threw for 123 yards and a touchdown with 12 rushes for 112 yards and four scores last week.

My prediction: Madison Central 35, D’Iberville 31.

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

Gautier 24, Hancock 21: The Gators have been one of the bigger surprises to begin the season with a 2-0 start. They followed up a 35-28 win over Ocean Springs with a 28-7 thumping of Moss Point. Hancock is also 2-0, but it’s had a tough time with a pair of teams that most folks expected them to handle easily – 10-7 over Pearl River Central and 41-34 in overtime over South Jones.

Long Beach 35, Bay High 10: The Bearcats (0-1) had a bye week to think about their 34-31 loss to Pass Christian in the opener. Junior quarterback Cade Crosby, who recently picked up his first Division I football offer from Tennessee-Martin, and company should be ready to roll.

East Central 20, George County 10: This will be one of better defensive games on the Coast this season. The Hornets (1-0) are coming off a 6-0 win over Biloxi while George County (1-1) has allowed 21 points through two games. The East Central offense left plenty of points on the field last week due to penalties while George County has yet to score an offensive touchdown.

Harrison Central 28, Forest Hill 10: The Red Rebels are well positioned to improve to 2-1 after picking up an impressive 32-20 victory over Stone High last week. After getting shut down in the opener against Jefferson Davis County, the HC offense showed some life last week with quarterback Dayln Anderson throwing for 167 yards and a touchdown.

Gulfport 28, Archbishop Rummel 24: The Admirals (2-0) fell 31-0 at Rummel last season, but quarterback T.Q. Newsome was sidelined with an injury during the game. The senior has completed 72.2 percent of his passes for 463 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. The Southern Miss commit also leads the Admirals in rushing with 28 carries for 177 yards and two scores.

Vancleave 28, Greene County 20: The Bulldogs are rolling to begin the season at 2-0 after thrashing both Forrest County AHS and West Harrison. Greene County stands at 2-0 and has managed just 21 points through two defeats.

Crestview 27, St. Martin 21: Crestview, which is led by former Pearl River Community College coach Tim Hatten, thumped St. Martin 32-0 last season. That’s a big gap for the Yellow Jackets to make up, even if the game is being played at St. Martin.

Picayune 38, Pascagoula 17: Points are hard to come by for Pascagoula (0-2) at the moment and we all know Picayune (1-1) should light up the scoreboard.

St. Paul’s 24, St. Stanislaus 20: St. Stanislaus is better than it showed in a 42-7 loss to Biloxi in the season opener.

Biloxi 35, Stone High 28: The Indians were completely shut down on offense last week in a 6-0 loss to East Central, but they’ll find a way to rebound this week. Junior Anthony Crouse has led the Biloxi defense with 25 tackles.

St. Patrick 28, Mt. Olive 24: St. Patrick (1-0) should get its first full four-quarter game of the season after needing only two quarters to thump Snook Christian 40-0 in a weather-shortened opener.

Ocean Springs 28, Murrah 14: Senior running back Micah Kelly has been a bright spot for Ocean Springs (0-2) with 45 carries for 241 yards and three touchdowns.

South Jones 31, West Harrison 14: South Jones (0-2) came to life on offense in a 41-34 overtime loss at Hancock and that’s a bad sign for the Hurricanes (0-2).

Pearl River Central 24, Forrest County AHS 17: This is a good opportunity for Jacob Owen to get his first victory as the PRC head coach. FCAHS has struggled out of the gate in losses to Vancleave and Perry Central.

Pass Christian 28, Perry Central 20: Possibly the most surprising outcome of the second week was Pass Christian’s 30-14 loss to Lanier at home. This will be an important game for the Pirates (1-1) to regain momentum.

Hattiesburg 35, Moss Point 14: This is another tough early game for Moss Point (1-1). Hattiesburg has totaled 76 points in wins over Petal and Laurel.

Poplarville 38, Seminary 20: The Hornets (1-1) came to life last week in a 50-14 win at Pearl River Central and I don’t see them slowing down at Seminary (1-1).

Sun Herald Top 5

1. Gulfport (2-0)

2. D’Iberville (2-0)

3. St. Martin (2-0)

4. Picayune (1-1)

5. Poplarville (1-1)

This story was originally published August 30, 2018 at 10:50 AM.