Patrick’s Picks: Can East Central keep up the pace at Pascagoula? Picayune eyes PRC
South Mississippi’s biggest high school football game of the week unquestionably takes place at War Memorial Stadium on Friday night as Pascagoula plays host to East Central in a game that will help determine who stays in the hunt in Region 4-5A and who stays on pace for a first-round home game in the playoffs.
Both teams are 3-1 in region play and tied for second place behind Picayune (7-0, 4-0) with three games remaining in the regular season. East Central is 6-1 overall with its only loss coming in a 14-7 loss at Picayune on Sept. 25.
Gautier pushed East Central well into the fourth quarter in a 30-26 win for the Hornets last week with Gators quarterback Kaden Irving throwing for 324 yards and four touchdowns. But that showing is one of the rare instances this season where opponents have moved the ball consistently on East Central.
Pascagoula, which is 4-3 overall, should be well-rested after last week’s scheduled opponent, Wayne County, entered quarantine due to COVID-19 and had to forfeit last week’s game.
After Gautier hit the Hornets through the air, Pascagoula will have to hope its rushing attack proves to be the exception to the rule against East Central this season. Vancleave is the only team that has had much success running the ball against East Central this season and that was 125 yards on 25 carries — well below the Bulldogs’ average of 354.7 yards a game.
If Pascagoula is to put up yardage on the ground Friday night, sophomore quarterback Keilon Parnell will have to find a way to break off some big gainers. He has 73 carries for 475 yards and five touchdowns this season.
At this point, I’m buying East Central and its stiff defense.
My pick: East Central 24, Pascagoula 14.
Here’s how I see the rest of Friday night’s games playing out:
Harrison Central 35, Hancock 14: Harrison Central coach Casey Cain hopes senior receiver Jacobi Moore can get close to full stride this week after battling a sore knee for much of the season. If the Mississippi State commit gets back in the fold, the Red Rebels (6-0, 4-0) may be a contender not only in Region 4-6A, but for 6A South State. Harrison Central plays host D’Iberville next week in potentially a battle of unbeatens.
D’Iberville 31, Gulfport 17: After taking a couple of weeks off on offense, it’ll be interesting to see if senior running back/defensive back Justin Walley gets some touches this week against the Admirals. He has rushed 41 times for 548 yards and nine touchdowns, and the stats don’t tell the full story of how truly good he has been this season. D’Iberville coach Larry Dolan will want to make sure his star is full go for the Red Rebels.
Ocean Springs 28, St. Martin 10: Sophomore quarterback Bray Hubbard is back for Ocean Springs and that should be bad news for the Yellow Jackets and the rest of the competition. If the Greyhounds (7-1, 3-1) beat St. Martin and Gulfport, they’ll enter the regular-season finale against Harrison Central still in the hunt for a first-round home game in the playoffs.
Hattiesburg 28, Long Beach 14: The Bearcats (1-6, 0-4) showed up and played Picayune tough for a half last week in a 42-13 loss. They’ll be hoping to show more signs of progress at Hattiesburg on Friday night.
Biloxi 38, West Harrison 14: This game was moved to 2 p.m. on Saturday to give home team West Harrison a day of practice after the Hurricanes spent two weeks in quarantine due to potential COVID-19 exposure.
Picayune 35, Pearl River Central 20: Senior Austin Samples has turned into the go-to guy at running back for the Maroon Tide with 120 carries for 839 yards and 11 touchdowns. Sophomore Dante Dowdell could also factor into the ground game now that he is back from injury.
Poplarville 42, Greene County 12: Ever since Poplarville (4-3, 3-0) started playing Class 4A competition, there has been little doubt as to which is the best team is on the field. Junior D.J. Richardbey has stepped up as the main man in the Poplarville rushing attack, carrying 93 times for 739 yards and eight touchdowns.
Moss Point 35, Pass Christian 21: Senior quarterback Ruben Lee continues to live up to the hype for the Region 8-4A champion Tigers (5-2, 3-0), completing 64.6 percent of his passes for 1,835 yards, 22 touchdowns and two interceptions.
Vancleave 35, St. Stanislaus 24: Both of these teams are 1-1 in Region 8-4A play, and this game is crucial in the race to earn a first-round home game in the playoffs. Vancleave has proven that it can put up points.
Lumberton 28, Resurrection 20: Lumberton (6-1, 6-0) has trounced the competition in Region 8-1A and RCS (5-2, 4-2) has hit a rough patch with losses in two of its past three games.
High school football schedule
Friday’s games
7 p.m.
Harrison Central at Hancock
D’Iberville at Gulfport
Ocean Springs at St. Martin
Hattiesburg at Long Beach
Picayune at Pearl River Central
Poplarville at Greene County
Moss Point at Pass Christian
St. Stanislaus at Vancleave
Resurrection at Lumberton
East Central at Pascagoula
Saturday’s game
2 p.m.
Biloxi at West Harrison
This story was originally published October 22, 2020 at 2:21 PM.
