The high school football playoffs have arrived in South Mississippi. See the match-ups.
The road to the Rock has officially been laid. The opening round of the Mississippi high school football playoffs arrived last Friday for 2A-4A, while the path to Hattiesburg begins for everyone else this week.
The Coast has a pair of teams who many expect to see win South State titles with a third hoping to take another step toward breaking the curse looming over the biggest schools in the area.
This is the final iteration of the current playoff format as it has existed since 2009. The MHSAA will be adding a seventh classification next summer, bringing a significant shakeup in who Gulf Coast high schools will be playing against.
Here’s the full outlook for the 2022 postseason for South Mississippi teams:
6A
First round matchups
Region 4 No. 1 Ocean Springs vs Region 3 No. 4 Northwest Rankin
No. 2 Gulfport vs No. 3 Warren Central
No. 3 Biloxi at No. 2 Oak Grove
No. 4 Hancock at No. 1 Brandon
The upcoming weeks have the potential to create a banner year for a region that has yet to make a state title game appearance since the sixth classification was conceived in 2009.
Gulfport has bounced back to the levels of success last seen in head coach John Archie’s first seasons at the helm. The only two losses GHS has suffered have been against reigning 5A champion Picayune and district title-holder Ocean Springs.
Oak Grove may even be on upset watch with one of Katlan French’s most talented Biloxi teams making the trip north.
The Greyhounds are the favorite to represent the Coast in later rounds with Alabama-commit Bray Hubbard and a defense that has taken a step forward this season.
“Physicality is key when you get into the playoffs,” OSHS coach Blake Pennock told the Sun Herald. “We have to win both lines of scrimmage to go as far as we want to.”
5A
First round matchups
R4 No. 1 Picayune vs R3 No. 4 Laurel
No. 2 Gautier vs No. 3 Wayne County
No. 3 East Central at No. 2 West Jones
No. 4 Vancleave at No. 1 Hattiesburg
Region 4-5A is arguably deeper than its been in over a half-decade. One of the most talented teams in the country headlines the top while one of the most proficient quarterbacks in state history lurks just beneath.
Below Picayune and Gautier, East Central has a stout defense and clock-draining offense that will keep it in position to win any game.
Bringing up the rear is only the most successful team Vancleave has fielded since 2013. This competition will be stiff, but this region has a chance to stretch the Coast’s representation deep into the bracket.
“We approach every week like we’re 0-0,” Picayune coach Cody Stogner said ahead of the Maroon Tide’s district title-winning bout with Gautier. “Every week is a playoff week for us. Every week is a championship week.”
4A
Second round matchups
R8 No. 2 Moss Point vs R5 No. 4 Quitman
R7 No. 1 Poplarville vs R5 No. 2 Newton County
R8 No. 1 Stone vs R6 No. 2 North Pike
Upsets have already struck at the 4A level with Moss Point’s surprising 48-6 win over Forrest County Ag. setting up an interesting matchup with a Quitman team that pulled off a four-over-one seed upset against Region 6 champion McComb.
The Tigets had not won a game until Oct. 14 and have since rattled off three in a row.
“We had a lot of young, inexperienced guys coming into the season,” Moss Point coach Eugene Harmon said. “Playing bigger schools, so we knew we were going to face some lumps early on. Our No. 1 goal was getting better each week and we have gotten better each week... Now we’re just putting the right pieces of the puzzle together.”
Stone and Poplarville each had little trouble with their round one contests. The Hornets are the favorites on the South side of the bracket, but the Tomcats have proven resilient through their eye-opening seven-game win streak.
3A
Second round matchup
R8 No. 2 St. Stanislaus at R6 No. 1 Raleigh
The Rock-a-Chaws nabbed their first playoff win under coach Nate Encrapera last week in a 45-14 romping over Port Gibson.
St. Stanislaus will hit the road this week and face a different kind of challenger in Raleigh. The Lions are 10-1 and boast the state’s top prospect in Suntarine Perkins. The Ole Miss commit has over 1,000 rushing yards on offense and 69 tackles on defense.
1A
First round matchup
R4 No. 4 Resurrection at R3 No. 1 Hamilton
Resurrection came out on top of a three-way tie in its region to grab hold of the fourth and final playoff spot. Its reward is a date with an undefeated Hamilton team that swept through a strong Region 3.
This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
