Patrick’s Picks: SSC faces old teammate at St. Martin. Can Gulfport stun Oak Grove?
If you go all the way back to their 21-7 jamboree win over Gulfport, no squad on the Coast has been more consistently impressive this season than the St. Stanislaus football team.
On Friday night at St. Martin, we’ll get a better idea if the Rockachaws are the real deal. Both teams are 2-0 behind solid showings on offense early in the season.
St. Martin senior quarterback Patrick Greer, a St. Stanislaus transfer, ranks 10th in the state in passing yardage. He has completed 52 percent of his passes for 479 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.
Greer, whose brother Jake also played QB at St. Stanislaus, will likely have plenty of motivation against his old school after last lining up behind center for the Rockachaws for five games in 2017.
Greer is helped out by the fact that he has one of the Coast’s best play-makers in senior running back Jay McGee, who has 275 yards rushing, 177 yards receiving and four touchdowns total.
St. Stanislaus senior quarterback Max Favre has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks on the Coast, completing 64 percent of his passes for 323 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.
Senior defensive end/receiver Lee Negrotto has been one of the top two-way players. He has pulled in six catches for 129 yards and three touchdowns on offense. On defense, he has 11 tackles and three sacks for the Rockachaws.
St. Stanislaus already looks like the favorite to win Region 8-4A, but Coach Eddie Wayne Whitehead’s St. Martin team has a shot to surpass expectations in 2018.
My pick: St. Stanislaus 34, St. Martin 28.
Here are the picks for the rest of Friday night’s games:
Pascagoula 17, George County 14: Pascagoula stands at 2-0 and George County appears to be much improved at 1-1. The Rebels haven’t produced many big plays on offense, but the defense is as tough as there is in South Mississippi. Pascagoula is getting great production out of his ground game with Jacoryn Walker and Kayvon Barnes combining for 621 yards and four touchdowns.
Moss Point 27, Ocean Springs 21: The Tigers (0-2) are due for a victory in another brutal non-region slate. It’s been a tough-luck start to the season for Ocean Springs, which sits at 0-2.
Gulfport 28, Oak Grove 27: There’s still much to be learned about both of these teams with Oak Grove sitting at 1-0 after a win over Wayne County and Gulfport (2-0) possibly changing quarterbacks after Cade Crosby led the team to a second-half rally at Northwest Rankin a week ago. The Admirals are again one of the toughest defensive teams on the Coast. We’ll learn Friday if they have the offensive firepower to make this a special season.
Gautier 27, Hancock 24: After pushing Biloxi into the second half last week, Gautier (1-0) appears ready to compete with just about any Class 6A team in South Mississippi. Gautier senior athlete Jordan Irving already has three kick returns for touchdown this season and will be a nightmare for opponents. Hancock (2-0) relies heavily on senior running back Sebastian Fausett, who has 42 carries for 335 yards and four touchdowns.
Bay High 30, Forrest County AHS 20: A week ago, Forrest County AHS fell 38-14 at home to a resurgent Pass Christian squad. On Friday, the Aggies take on another Coast squad on the rise — Bay High. If first-year head coach Eric Collins leads the Tigers to another win Friday night, they will be 3-0 and will have equaled the program’s win total from the three previous seasons.
Long Beach 31, West Harrison 17: The Bearcats (0-2) have faced a tough schedule up to this point and likely have too much skill talent on offense for the Hurricanes (0-2). Both teams are badly in need of a win for momentum.
East Central 35, Vancleave 17: First-year Vancleave head coach Kevin Fant served on Seth Smith’s staff at East Central the last four seasons. On Friday night, they step on the field as opponents in one of the Coast’s most intense rivalries. The Bulldogs got off the mat for a 49-35 win at West Harrison last week, but East Central (0-1) will be rested and ready to after sitting out last week.
Picayune 38, Meridian 10: After Hancock throttled Meridian 35-12 a week ago, it’s hard to see the Wildcats putting up much of a fight at Picayune. The Maroon Tide put a stunning 41-6 beat down on D’Iberville last week. If that keeps up, Dodd Lee has a chance to win his third state championship in his final season as the head coach at Picayune.
Pass Christian 31, Purvis 20: The Pirates (2-0) should keep the ball rolling against a Purvis team that sits at 0-2. Pass Christian QB Dustin Allison has completed 57 percent of his passes for 602 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception.
Clarkdale 20, St. Patrick 17: After rolling over Class 1A Sacred Heart 27-0 last week, St. Patrick (1-0) should face a little stiffer test at Clarkdale, which is 0-2. To get over the hump against Clarkdale, the Irish will need Adam Ritter and Charlie Olsen to both clear 100 yards rushing like they did a week ago.
Lawrence County 28, Pearl River Central 24: Lawrence County (2-0) carries some momentum and a rushing attack that has 665 yards total into this road game at PRC. The Blue Devils (0-2) will finish off a tough non-region slate at St. Martin next week.
Resurrection 17: Northlake Christian 14: RCS (1-0) pulled out a solid 21-20 win at North Forrest last week behind a strong defensive effort. This will mark the season opener for Northlake Christian. RCS won 14-6 at Northlake in Covington, Louisiana last year.
This story was originally published September 5, 2019 at 3:05 PM.