4 South MS schools advance to South State title round. Here’s who, how and what’s next
Four Mississippi Coast schools remain standing as state playoffs enter the semifinal round.
Ocean Springs, Picayune, Gautier and Poplarville will all be playing for a South State championship next week after winning their second and third round games.
Here’s a full breakdown of the week’s action.
7A Second Round
- No. 1 Ocean Springs 27, No. 2 Oak Grove 14
The Greyhounds are back. The 1-4 start to the year seems deep in the past after Ocean Springs’ seventh consecutive win comes as revenge for a 35-21 week two loss to Oak Grove.
Sharroid Whitehead threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to Ian Harlan and added a couple of scores with his feet, including a game-sealing 72-yard jaunt in the fourth quarter.
Ocean Springs is back in the South State title game for the second time in three years and facing a familiar opponent in Brandon, who ended the Greyhounds’ run in the same round two seasons ago.
Up next: vs No. 1 Brandon
6A Second Round
- No. 1 Picayune 63, No. 3 George County 40
Cody Stogner continues to dominate in postseason rematches. Picayune has played a playoff Part II game three years in a row now and has won those meetings by an average of 32 points.
But Picayune couldn’t do it without pulling off yet another second-half comeback — its fifth of the season. The Maroon Tide trailed 21-14 at the break, but had a 42-21 lead just 10 minutes into a head-spinning third quarter.
Darrell Smith and Triston Cooper combined for eight total touchdowns. Rebel quarterback and Auburn commit Deuce Knight scored three rushing touchdowns and threw for another in his final high school game.
George County ends the year 7-6 and playoff-game winners for the first time since 2007.
Up next: vs No. 1 Hattiesburg
- No. 1 Hattiesburg 32, No. 2 Pascagoula 17
Pascagoula’s bid to play spoiler came to an end in the second half of its loss to Hattiesburg and Mr. 6A Deuce Vance.
The Panthers held a 14-13 lead in the second quarter and trailed just 19-14 at halftime. Former Harrison Central Red Rebel Tyree Barnett caught a 25-yard touchdown pass and Vance scored his third rushing touchdown to put away Pascagoula over the final two quarters.
Pascagoula quarterback and Southern Miss commit Silas Corder’s high school career comes to an end as the program’s all-time leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, completions and quarterback wins.
Pascagoula ends the year with nine wins for the first time since 2015 and its 35.5 points per game were the most since the 1935 team averaged 36.9 points.
5A Second Round
- No. 1 Gautier 28, No. 3 Wayne County 27
Star quarterback Trey Irving and running back Kasin Thomas each finished with two rushing touchdowns on a night where the Gautier offense scored touchdowns on every possession except its first and last, the last of which finished in the victory formation.
The Gators got big plays late from their defense, which stopped a Wayne County 2-point conversion in the final minutes, and Irving, who converted a 3rd-and-long that allowed Gautier to ice the game in the victory formation.
Wayne County’s ball-control offense featured a bruising rushing attack that accounted for 267 yards and kept the ball away from Gautier’s high-scoring offense. The Gators only had six possessions, with Irving completing 19-of-21 passes for 160 yards and the Gautier ground game accounting for another 106.
Up next: vs. No. 1 Brookhaven
- No. 1 Brookhaven 33, No. 2 Stone 7
Stone caught the wrong end of Brookhaven’s steamrolling train that has now reached seven straight double-digit wins.
Stone was held to negative yardage in the first half as Panther running backs Caiden Quarles and Jaden Allen tallied over 100 rushing yards each in a game that was never close.
The Tomcats finish the year 6-6 in Jacob Aycock’s second season at the helm.
4A Third Round
- No. 2 Poplarville 42, No. 1 McComb 21
The Hornets continue to roll with back to back wins over region champions after stomping through McComb.
Poplarville ripped of 28 unanswered points after falling behind 14-7 in the second quarter. Back to back scores by Sydney Blackmon and Ty Keys gave Poplarville the lead by halftime and the Hornets poured on from there.
Jay Beech’s team is back in the South State title game for the eighth time in the last nine years and looking to breakthrough to the final round for the first time since 2020.
Up next: at No. 1 Forest
This story was originally published November 24, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
