MS Coast playoff schedule and outlook as high school football postseason begins
The postseason has arrived in classifications 1A through 4A and one regular season game is left for teams in the upper classifications.
Playoff scenarios are fairly straightforward for most South Mississippi regions after a championship-filled Friday, but there are still important games to be played as seeding and homefield advantage continues to hang in the balance.
Here is this week’s playoff schedule for Mississippi Coast lower classification teams, as well as a breakdown for the upper class teams. Playoff games will be played Friday while regular season games will be played Thursday.
3A First Round
Friday
- No. 4 St. Stanislaus at No. 1 Noxubee County
4A First Round
Friday
- No. 2 Poplarville vs No. 3 Mendenhall
- No. 3 Pass Christian at No. 2 Northeast Jones
- No. 4 Bay High at No. 1 Forest
Region 4-7A
Ocean Springs claimed its fourth district championship in a row with a 20-3 win over Gulfport last week and the Admirals were left taking the first round homefield advantage as consolation once again.
All that’s left here is a rivalry bout between Biloxi and D’Iberville for the No. 3 seed. The Warriors put an official end to a brief two-year playoff drought with a win over St. Martin and have outscored their last two opponents 80-0.
| REGION 4-7A STANDINGS | ||
| TOTAL | DIST. | |
| X - Ocean Springs | 6-4 | 5-0 |
| Z - Gulfport | 7-3 | 4-1 |
| Y - Biloxi | 4-5 | 3-2 |
| Y - D’Iberville | 4-5 | 2-3 |
| E - Harrison Central | 2-8 | 1-4 |
| E - St. Martin | 3-7 | 0-5 |
Thursday scenarios
- Winner of Biloxi-D’Iberville will be the No. 3 seed, loser takes No. 4
Region 4-6A
Picayune successfully fended off the Rebels last week, 27-20, earning its four consecutive region championship.
George County must turn the page quickly as it hosts Pascagoula this week for the second seed and the opportunity to host a first round playoff game. Hancock’s win over Long Beach cemented the Hawks into the district’s final playoff spot and is in the postseason for the third year in a row for the first time since 1988-91.
| REGION 4-6A STANDINGS | ||
| TOTAL | DIST. | |
| X - Picayune | 9-2 | 5-0 |
| Z - Pascagoula | 8-2 | 4-1 |
| Y - George County | 6-5 | 3-2 |
| Y - Hancock | 3-8 | 2-3 |
E - West Harrison | 5-5 | 1-4 |
| E - Long Beach | 2-9 | 0-5 |
Thursday scenarios
- Winner of Pascagoula-George County will be the No. 2 seed, loser No. 3
Region 4-5A
We all have East Central to thank for making this district a muddled cluster with one week to go.
While Gautier was demolishing Stone, 35-6, and capturing its first region title since 2008, the Hornets were pulling off a surprising 28-26 upset of Vancleave and keeping themselves in the race for a playoff spot. The result, coupled with the Tomcats’ loss, also put the valuable two seed up for grabs.
With three of four tickets still to be punched and every team in play, there’s a lot that could happen. Among the simplest paths forward are the two where both Stone and Gautier win over East Central and Laurel. That would eliminate the Golden Tornadoes and Hornets. A Vancleave win over Wayne County in that scenario would land the Bulldogs the two-seed and the Tomcats would have the two-seed if the War Eagles beat Vancleave.
But how does East Central sneak in? If the Hornets pull off another upset of Stone and get some help from Gautier and Wayne County, East Central would be the owners of the No. 3 seed while the War Eagles snag the second and Vancleave the final, leaving the Tomcats on the outside.
There are number of other outcomes and some involve point differential. To keep it simple, Stone, Vancleave and Wayne County all control their destinies.
| REGION 4-5A STANDINGS | |||
| TOTAL | DIST. | ||
| X - Gautier | 9-1 | 5-0 | |
| Z - Stone | 5-5 | 3-2 | |
| Y - Wayne County | 6-4 | 3-2 | |
| Y - Vancleave | 5-5 | 2-3 | |
| E - East Central | 2-8 | 1-4 | |
| E - Laurel | 2-9 | 1-4 |
Thursday scenarios (not exhaustive)
- Stone clinches playoff spot with win over East Central
- Vancleave clinches playoff spot with win over Wayne County
- Wayne County clinches playoff spot with win over Vancleave
- East Central eliminated with loss to Stone
- Laurel eliminated with loss to Gautier
X: District champions
Y: Playoff clinched
Z: Home field clinched
E: Eliminated
This story was originally published October 24, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
