Week 10 biggest stories: Triumph and heartbreak across the Mississippi Coast
The highest stakes of the regular season are behind us.
Classes 1A through 4A have determined their playoff fields and the upper classes have their champions, at least on the Coast.
More teams have been eliminated and plenty others are still in the mix for a playoff berth. We break down the biggest moments of the week and what’s coming next with top stories of week 10.
We’ve got champions
Each Coast region officially has a champion. Gulfport, Picayune and Stone secured their spots on top of their respective districts Friday.
Gulfport held off D’Iberville, 38-35, to give the Admirals the top seed for the first time since 2019. It put an end to Ocean Springs’ four-year hold on Region 4-7A and made Gulfport head coach Blake Pennock this first to win the Coast’s highest district at two different schools.
Picayune won a classic Region 4-6A shootout with Gautier, 35-31, to extend its win streak over the Gators to 15 games and over its region to 28. The win also extended the program’s district champions streak to five years.
In Region 4-5A, Stone turned a 1-3 start to the season to a region championship with its fifth straight win. The Tomcats will be a top seed in the playoffs for the first time since 2022 and only the second time since 1995.
Not like this, West Harrison
You couldn’t write a more tragic story. The Hurricanes opened the season 5-0 but will miss the playoffs by exactly one game for the fourth consecutive year and extend the program’s hunt for its first-ever postseason appearance.
This year’s deciding blow was a 42-35 overtime loss to Biloxi in which West Harrison outgained the Indians in yardage 507-366. Jordan Stapleton’s final act was a three-touchdown performance he used to eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing mark with 166 yards on 23 carries.
Stapleton leaves as the school’s all-time leading rusher with 4,334 career yards. The Hurricanes end the year with their second-ever winning record at 6-4 and have not finished below .500 since 2021. In that stretch, West Harrison is 17-3 during August and September and 5-15 in October and November.
How many playoff spots left?
Fewer than the number of teams still in contention. Playoff football begins this week in 1A-4A, but the Coast’s 5A-7A regions still have a number of unclaimed seats on the postseason bus.
The bottom of R4-7A has a few different ways it could play out with one spot open to two teams, St. Martin and Biloxi. As of right now, the Yellow Jackets have the head-to-head tiebreaker and the Indians would need some wackiness to go down.
The field of four in R4-6A has its cast members, but not all the supporting roles have been decided. Gautier is out for the first time since 2020. Pearl River Central is in for the second straight year for the first time since 2014-15 and Hancock is in for the fourth straight year.
The Panthers are locked in at the two-seed and the away seeds would require two substantial upsets to not end up as Hancock No. 3 and PRC No. 4. George County can lock in the four-seed in R3-6A with a win over Forest Hill.
Region 4-5A is where it gets fun. Wayne County has put itself in the driver’s seat for the two-seed, Purvis is currently third at 2-2 and the rest (Vancleave, Northeast Jones, East Central) are all 1-2 and are all 1-1 against each other.
As it stands, Northeast Jones leads the way for the fourth-seed, followed by Vancleave and then East Central. A shift in the order this week won’t surprise anyone with four teams hoping to lock in one of two open spots.
Thursday’s scores
Columbia 49, Poplarville 28
Pass Christian 48, Bay High 0
Stringer 40, Resurrection 0
West Marion 47, St. Stanislaus 14
Friday’s scores
Biloxi 42, West Harrison 35 (OT)
Columbia Academy 54, Christian Collegiate 0
East Central 27, Vancleave 24
Gulfport 38, D’Iberville 35
Ocean Springs 35, Harrison Central 0
Pascagoula 35, Hancock 0
Pearl River Central 49, Long Beach 21
Picayune 35, Gautier 31
Stone 17, Northeast Jones 7
Terry 27, George County 20
This story was originally published November 3, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Week 10 biggest stories: Triumph and heartbreak across the Mississippi Coast."
