Three 7A teams make the biggest noise in Week 1, with one setting school record
An exciting Week 1 on the Mississippi Coast is in the books.
Points were plentiful between blowout wins and razor-tight finishes. It’s still early, which means more questions were raised by the outcomes than answers can be gleaned.
We take a look at some of the biggest stories the week produced, including record-breaking performances and head-turning results.
St. Martin’s offensive outburst
The Yellow Jackets have scored exactly half the number of points they scored in 10 games last year, through the first contest of the new 2025 season.
Woody Cagnolatti’s tenure got off to a loud start during a 64-21 fireworks-show victory at Vancleave. It was the most points scored in a single game in St. Martin history, besting a 63-14 win over West Harrison in 2020 and the 63-55 win at East Central in 2016.
Running back-turned-quarterback Seth Crockett played catalyst, completing 11 of his 12 passes for 183 yards and racking up 164 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 14 carries.
Touted freshman quarterback Dawsen Sullivan also saw the field and completed each of his six pass attempts, and accounted for three touchdowns.
St. Martin amassed 536 yards of offense and scored more points than it did throughout the entirety of district play in 2024.
For the Bulldogs, it was their most points given up since Picayune defeated them 69-42 in 2021. Vancleave had not allowed that many points in a home game since losing 68-37 to St. John in 1986.
How much stock to buy in West Harrison
There are no gimmicks at play when Poplarville’s single wing offense collides with West Harrison’s double wing. The Hornets had a blue-chip prospect in their backfield and a blue-chipper on the defensive line. They would get theirs, but much more often than not, it was the West Harrison line of scrimmage that won the battles.
And did so with a fair amount of authority. The Hurricanes left Popvegas with a 34-18 win over the defending 4A champions, prompting a renewed sense of inevitability of the school’s first playoff trip.
West Harrison arguably has the most talented team of its brief 17-year history. The offensive line is among the most experienced on the Coast and the back behind it is fresh off a 2,000-yard campaign and now a four-touchdown show in the opener.
Its defense features a Navy commit on the defensive line in Jazear Carter and a Navy commit outside at corner in Tre Williams.
But now the Hurricanes are back in the Coast’s top classification, where it was 1-13 in region play over two years in 2019-20. It’s safe to say this is not the same team, but they will have to find at least two wins come district time to take advantage of the window.
A key test looms in a couple of weeks when West Harrison plays its first home game of the year against 5A state runner-ups and now 6A contender Gautier.
Ocean Springs presents new danger
Chalmers Berglind couldn’t have asked for a better start to his sophomore year. The first pass he completed in Thursday night’s 35-0 win at Meridian was a 75-yard touchdown to Ian Michael Harlan.
And the rest was easy, or at least the Greyhound offense made it seem so. Berglind completed eight of his 13 passes for 226 yards and four touchdowns to one interception. He showed off some of the wheels he displayed in spots last season with a couple dozen rushing yards.
His presence at quarterback allowed coach Jake Bramlett to utilize his athletes in space, namely Sharroid Whitehead. “Chop” played quarterback during district play last fall, but began this year with three touches that amassed 89 total yards and one score.
Gautier transfer Solomon Baggett shined in the backfield with 63 rushing yards and a touchdown on just nine carries.
The Greyhounds’ track quickly turns uphill with games against Petal, Pascagoula and Picayune. If Berglind meets the moment and Bramlett can keep his playmakers spread across the field, it’ll only be that much harder for R4-7A to prevent a fourth year under Greyhound rule.
