Pass Christian hoping it can turn close losses into championships behind Coast-leading QB
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Quarterback Paris Trivillion leads Pass Christian's 2-0 start with 9 TDs, 544 yards.
- Pirates aim to convert 1-score losses into a region title in Stockstill's third year.
- Receiver Dwight Thomas totals 6 TDs, 257 yards after offseason preparation boost.
It’s not uncommon for a high school coach to put his best athlete at quarterback. What is rare is the athlete taking to the position the way Paris Trivillion has.
The second-year Pass Christian starter is the Mississippi Coast’s leading passer and has spearheaded the loudest 2-0 start in team history, with 97 points scored between runaway wins over Long Beach and Purvis.
He guides a program that has been on the cusp of a different milestone during the Jeff Stockstill era: the school’s first region championship. But that title has proven elusive for the Pirates.
“Our team is at a crossroads right now, when this team understands that there’s 10 games on the schedule, and you can play good and you can win, you have to come back Monday and start over,” Stockstill told the Sun Herald. “You have to have a good Monday and a good Tuesday and then you got to do it the next week. When we get over that hurdle of having a reset, refocus and continue to produce and continue to push and continue to practice well, then I think we have a good chance at being a good team.”
Pass Christian finished third in R8-4A a year ago with one-score losses to district champion Greene County and eventual 4A title winner Poplarville. That was a learn-on-the-fly season for its sophomore defensive back taking snaps behind center.
Trivillion threw for over 2,000 yards, completed more passes than Auburn signee Deuce Knight and had fewer turnovers than Mr. 5A Trey Irving. Not bad for a free safety.
Now a junior and with a full year of quarterbacking under his belt, Trivillion has shown signs of significant improvement.
His completion percentage has jumped a full 10 percent, and he’s thrown one interception in 48 attempts after averaging one in each 31.1 last year.
“I’m more comfortable and worrying about less,” Trivillion said. “It’s gotten easier as I’ve played more and more. It’s easier to process everything.”
Trivillion opened the year with 250 yards on just 15 completions against the Bearcats with five total touchdowns. He followed with 294 yards and four touchdowns against the Tornadoes.
“He’s hard on himself,” Stockstill said. “He expects himself to play well. We put him in the weight room and try and get him stronger and faster, try to draw up some plays where the situation fits his skillset the best, and kind of let him get out there and do his thing.”
The growth comes despite the Pirates graduating four of Trivillion’s top five targets from 2024. Helping fill the void has been 6-foot-2 senior Dwight Thomas.
Thomas caught six passes through the entirety of his junior season. Through two games of the new campaign, he has six touchdown catches. He’s already doubled his 2024 production with 12 receptions and has turned them into 257 yards of offense.
His 36 points scored are more than what eight entire Coast teams have put on the board.
“I put in a lot of work during the offseason because last season I didn’t have the best season,” Thomas said. “But I had to shake back. I knew I had to step up so that’s what I did.”
This is Stockstill’s third team at Pass Christian and he says it’s the mentally strongest group he’s had.
His first two teams each scored over 300 points, a feat that had never been done in consecutive years at the school. But his first team missed a region title thanks to an eight-point loss to Poplarville. Last season, the Pirates went on a three-game mid-year skid where each loss came by one score.
While Stockstill’s record at The Pass stands at 16-8, the Pirates are 1-6 in one-score games since the beginning of 2023.
“We’re upperclass heavy and the way these guys struggled with the one-score losses constantly and not being able to get over the hump, they really put their mind to finishing off drives and finishing off halves,” Stockstill said. “I think this group so far is the best one about playing through injuries, playing through sickness, showing up every day and being coachable. Not making a bad play and pouting and things like that. They pick each other up. Little things like that is what’s helping the team overall.”
Stockstill knows an adversarial moment will arrive at some point in the schedule. The region is wide open for the taking following Poplarville’s departure and Greene County losing both its quarterback and coach.
But these Pirates are determined to fight one battle at a time.
“We’re just trying to play the best football we can play,” Trivillion said. “Win as many games as we can and if we make history then that’s what it is.”
Pass Christian is in the second leg of its three-game road trip. It faces Presbyterian Christian Friday and then St. Stanislaus in week four. District play opens Oct. 3 at Greene County.
