With 5 chances for soccer gold, Coast comes up empty on Championship Saturday
Long Beach couldn’t halt Saltillo’s steamrolling dynasty.
The Tigers defeated the Lady Bearcats in a 6A state title rematch of last year’s Saltillo victory and the outcome was the same. Long Beach fell, 2-0, in their second consecutive trip to Jackson.
Saltillo’s win gave it four state championships in a row.
Long Beach had multiple second-half free kick opportunities but were denied each time. The Tigers got one goal in each half.
The Lady Bearcats finish the season with 18 wins.
Biloxi’s storybook run ends in shutout
Biloxi was blanked by Madison Central, 2-0, in the 7A title meeting.
The Indians were the surprise team of the brackets, finishing third in their region before pulling off upset wins against Oak Grove, Gulfport and Ocean Springs to claim the school’s first-ever South State championship.
The reigning champions Madison Central made it two Gold Balls in a row with two second-half goals.
Early goal sinks George County
George County failed to score on Center Hill goalkeeper Aidan Anewalt, falling 1-0 despite a flurry of drives deep into Center Hill’s side of the field in the second half of the Class 6A boys state soccer championship game.
The only goal scored in the game came midway through the first half in which a backward pass in George County territory was intercepted by Center Hill forward Erick Duenas and was punched in for the score. Duenas would go on to be named MVP of the game
The Rebels finish the year with a 19-5 record.
Bay High’s run comes to an end
Bay High failed to get a ball behind the New Albany goalkeeper in the 4A state championship match and had their chase for a fourth straight title cut short at the final turn.
The Tigers were blanked, 3-0, at Ridgeland High School on Saturday.
The Bulldogs scored once in the first half and twice more late in the second to pull away. New Albany got goals from Eric Tinajero, Collin Nolen and Alexander Tinajero.
The Tigers entered the year as the reigning back-to-back state champs and finish the season with 22 wins.
East Central comes away empty-handed
East Central fell short on the final leg of its chase for a Gold Ball.
The Lady Hornets fell to Florence, 4-1, in the 5A girls soccer state championship game at Germantown High School in Jackson Saturday.
It’s the third consecutive season the Eagles have ended East Central’s postseason campaign.
East Central’s lone goal came in the first half off the foot of Landry King. It momentarily tied the match at 1, but Florence found net twice more in the first half before adding the dagger in the second half.
Eagles sophomore forward Kadie Carroll was named MVP of the game.
East Central leaves 2026 with 21 wins, the most for the program in at least the last 15 years. King finished with 12 goals on the year while freshman Lucy Myrick led the team with 31 goals.
St. Patrick swept the Class I title championship matches on Friday night with both the boys and girls teams defeating St. Andrew’s.
This story was originally published February 21, 2026 at 12:25 PM.
