MS high school football playoffs: Standings and playoff scenarios
Regular season football on the Mississippi Coast will be over by Thursday night.
The playoff brackets for 5A-7A will be set ahead of Friday’s opening round action for the 1A-4A postseason.
We break down the standings, playoff scenarios and take a look at the playoff field for the lower classifications as we wind down the season.
The full Mississippi Coast stat leaderboards can be found at SunHerald.com.
R4-7A
There are two teams left fighting for one spot, but don’t expect much drama. The two games that carry weight in this district are St. Martin vs Ocean Springs and D’Iberville vs Biloxi. It would take a pretty sizable upset by the Indians to move ahead of the Yellow Jackets. If both lose, St. Martin is playoff bound for the first time since 2020.
D’Iberville is locked in because it would have the tiebreaker over St. Martin in both a two-way and three-way scenario. The Warriors can only move down to No. 4 if Biloxi beats them. So there is incentive for D’Iberville to handle business.
| Region 4-7A | Overall | District |
|---|---|---|
| y- Gulfport | 6-2 | 4-0 |
| z- Ocean Springs | 7-1 | 4-1 |
| x- D'Iberville | 7-1 | 3-2 |
| St. Martin | 6-3 | 2-3 |
| Biloxi | 3-6 | 2-3 |
| e- West Harrison | 6-4 | 2-4 |
| e- Harrison Central | 1-7 | 0-4 |
R4-6A
The field of four is set in Region 4-6A. The only bit of sorting remaining is who the three and four seeds will be handed to between Hancock and Pearl River Central.
Pascagoula has already clinched a first round home game because it owns tiebreakers over both the Hawks and Blue Devils. If Hancock beats Long Beach and PRC loses to Picayune, the below order will then stick.
If the reverse happens, requiring what would be two of the biggest upsets of the year, then it will be flipped with Hancock at the four and PRC at the three. What if they finish with the same record? Hancock’s 41-21 win over the Blue Devils on Oct. 10 solves that tie.
| Region 4-6A | Overall | District |
|---|---|---|
| y- Picayune | 8-1 | 4-0 |
| z- Pascagoula | 4-5 | 3-1 |
| x- Hancock | 3-6 | 2-2 |
| x- Pearl River Central | 6-3 | 2-2 |
| e- Gautier | 3-6 | 1-3 |
| e- Long Beach | 1-8 | 0-4 |
George County can secure the four seed in R3-6A with a win over Forrest Hill.
R4-5A
Not even the Christmas lights you’re pulling out of storage are going to be as tangled as this district.
Two seeds are locked in. That’s Stone at the top and Wayne County at the second seed. This leaves four teams vying for two spots with one game each to play. Vancleave and East Central are both 1-3 but can both still play postseason football.
Vancleave actually benefits from the mess because a win against Purvis will mean it can’t be left alone in a tiebreaker with the East Central team it just lost to. Each tiebreaker scenario would involve three or four teams and they each break in favor of the Bulldogs.
Simply put: Vancleave only needs to beat Purvis to make the field and the only scenario where it isn’t the three seed is if East Central topples Stone and Wayne County beats Northeast Jones, which would place the Hornets in the third spot.
It’s just as easy the other way, too. If either Vancleave or East Central loses, there is no path where either sneak in.
The Hornets can make the playoffs in three out of four winning scenarios. It can miss if Northeast Jones beats Wayne County.
The short: Vancleave must beat Purvis and needs no other help. East Central must beat Stone and Wayne County must beat Northeast Jones.
| Region 4-5A | Overall | District |
|---|---|---|
| y- Stone | 6-3 | 4-0 |
| z- Wayne County | 3-6 | 3-1 |
| Purvis | 5-4 | 2-2 |
| Northeast Jones | 4-5 | 1-3 |
| Vancleave | 3-6 | 1-3 |
| East Cental | 2-7 | 1-3 |
4A First Round
- No. 1 Pass Christian vs No. 4 South Pike
- No. 3 Poplarville at No. 2 Forrest Co. AHS
- No. 4 Moss Point at No. 1 Columbia
Pass Christian’s first-ever playoff game as a top seed won’t be the cupcake often afforded region champions. Instead, the Pirates are hosting South Pike. The Eagles may be 3-6, but their active three-game losing streak is courtesy of Columbia, McComb and Poplarville.
South Pike will present a challenge to the explosive Pass Christian offense with a defense averaging 9 tackles for loss per game and anchored by Missouri commit Micah Nickerson on the edge.
Poplarville is on the road in the first round for the first time in a decade, but has a favorable matchup against Forrest County AHS. Ty Keys is currently leading the state in rushing yards and the Aggies have struggled against run-heavy offenses.
Moss Point is back in the playoffs after a two-year break and its reward is the heavy 4A South State favorite Columbia.
3A First Round
- No. 4 St. Patrick at No. 1 Franklin County
The Coast has one 3A representative and as everyone guessed preseason, it’s St. Patrick. The Fighting Irish get a rare extra week of football and, with it, will face one of the weaker top-seeds in the field in Franklin County.
This story was originally published October 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
