Will a 6A Coast football team bring home a playoff title for the first time ever?
Four high school football teams have a chance to turn the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s luck around and bring home a playoff title in the 6A postseason.
In the 12 years since the inception of the 6A classification, only Ocean Springs has seen the third round of the postseason, and that was in 2009.
The Greyhounds, D’Iberville, Gulfport and Harrison Central have won a combined nine playoff games since 2009 in 42 tries. These are the four who are hoping to break through the ceiling that has covered the highest level of prep football on the Coast.
This year marks the 10th time GHS has reached the 6A playoffs. The Admirals have two wins in the postseason and they came nine years apart.
Brian Caldwell, athletic director for the Gulfport School District, has been seen the last six playoff trips in his current position and says he knows the problems 6A Coast football teams face.
“Whenever you’re matched up with Region 3, that means you’re automatically going to be playing some of the best teams in the state,” he said. “So we’re looking at Oak Grove, Pedal, Brandon and Pearl, and each of them is a handful. We’re trying to figure out how to match the excellence of their programs.”
Caldwell said schools in the Jackson and Hattiesburg metro areas are successful in the playoffs because many of their football players also play baseball and basketball. He wants to see more of that on the Coast.
“We have a number of good athletes who are single-sport athletes,” Caldwell said. “Until we can all get on the same page and do a better job convincing our great athletes to play multiple sports, then it’s going to be an uphill climb.”
Pascagoula head football coach Lewis Sims, who has led the Panthers to the 5A postseason eight times, agrees with Caldwell.
“I think Pine Belt teams have a lot more depth than the teams on the Coast,” Sims said. “You’re a few players or a few injuries down from being in the playoffs to losing and being out of the playoffs.
“I do think sport specialization is a factor in that. All the coaches and staff at Pascagoula do a good job of having our best athletes play multiple sports. For teams to be competitive, you’ve really got to share your best athletes.”
Ocean Springs ready for playoffs
Ocean Springs head coach Blake Pennock knows all too well what a lack of depth can do to a team in the playoffs.
The Greyhounds nearly broke through with their first playoff win since 2014 last year in Pennock’s first season but dropped a 17-14 contest to Northwest Rankin. Pennock says the team was shorthanded after being hit hard by COVID-19.
This time around, OSHS is the undefeated region champion and looking to break the spell against Pearl.
“The Coast has gotten a bad rap for a long time,” Pennock said. “I spent most of my career in central Mississippi with all the success they had with Clinton and Madison Central and all that going on.”
Pennock said there are some up-and-coming teams on the Coast and several top athletes.
“I think you’re going to get Coast football to continue to move up that way,” he said.
Games to watch
D’Iberville is coming off its second consecutive 10-win season and is one of the two Region 4 teams with a playoff win last season. The Warriors face Warren Central on Friday night.
Harrison Central won its first playoff game last year, the first since 1991, and hopes to build on the milestone this week when against Brandon.
Gulfport will have to line up against reigning champions Oak Grove, the very team who knocked the Admirals out of their last postseason trip in 2019.
One of these schools, along with Ocean Springs, hope to bring a 6A title to the Coast for the first time in state history.
“This year is a new year,” Caldwell said. “I know Ocean Springs and D’Iberville have excellent teams and I expect them to win their first round games. Harrison Central and Gulfport will go on the road against two really good programs and give our best shot. The only way we can change this is on the field.”
