Singing River Stomping: Pascagoula stamps fourth straight with rivalry blowout
Jarrad Loper Jr. threw touchdown passes of 73, 76 and 75 yards on Thursday. Not bad for the school’s all-time leading tackler.
Pascagoula (5-5, 4-1) blew by Gautier in the annual Singing River Rivalry, 49-12, to close its regular season on a four-game win streak and regain control of a series in which the Panthers had lost three of the last four.
Loper Jr. connected with Darius Carter and DJ Nunnery on two first-half shots down the sideline and his third score was a screen pass to Sean Norvell on a second-and-45 near the end of the first half.
They represent a season high in scoring tosses for the middle linebacker, making his eighth start since replacing an injured Jason Glaude against Ocean Springs on Sept. 12.
“Jarrad is a consummate team player,” coach Lewis Sims said after the game. “He’s a student of the game. He hits the weight room. He hits the books. He is willing to do whatever it takes to win and when we had to pull him from defense, he really didn’t want to do it. But he knew for us to be the team we wanted to be, he needed to.”
Pascagoula had already clinched the second seed out of Region 4-6A, but has now pulled its overall record back to .500 after opening the season 1-4. Loper Jr.’s insertion at quarterback and the midseason return of running back Amarie Jackson sparked a 4-1 run through district in which the Panthers have outscored their opponents 209-64.
Their only region loss was a 38-36 defeat at the hands of Picayune in a game where multiple missed kicks and touchdown-erasing penalties are the ultimate difference between Pascagoula’s current seed and what could have been its first region title since 2020.
“We wanted to be undefeated in region, but unfortunately we were 4-1,” Sims said. “But what we did, we ran off four wins in a row and they were impressive wins where we were able to go out and really work on some things that we needed to get better at.”
Jackson has been a key piece in Pascagoula’s turnaround. The senior scored a season-best four touchdowns on the ground against Gautier, giving him 10 rushing touchdowns in his last three outings.
Thursday was his fifth straight 100-yard performance and pushed him over the 1,000-yard mark for the season.
“He’s an incredible running back,” Sims said. “He has a great attitude. He encourages his teammates, and he’s just a pleasure to coach.”
The 37-point shelling of the Gators is Pascagoula’s largest win in the season since a 59-8 rout in 2011.
There was no playoff positioning at stake in the 24th meeting between the schools. Gautier — the reigning 5A South State champion — was removed from postseason contention when it lost to Picayune last week.
Across the Pascagoula River, the Panthers tied up a home playoff game with a 35-0 win over Hancock, leaving one thing left to play for.
“Pride,” Sims said. “Whenever you play a rivalry, especially one like the one we have with Gautier, it means something to everyone in the community. You’re not just playing for your team, you’re not just playing for your school, you’re playing for your community.”
Ridding themselves of the bad taste leftover from last year’s 38-31 overtime loss provides strong incentive as well.
Pascagoula welcomes Terry out of a brutal Region 3-6A. The Bulldogs are a team that finds itself on the road as a three-seed despite a near-perfect 8-1 record.
The Panthers have won their first-round matchup in each of the last two years.
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 11:16 PM.
