Two of Coast’s first-year teams claim flag football region championships
The flag football playoff field became set on Thursday.
Biloxi and Pascagoula will represent the Mississippi Coast as region champions while St. Martin and George County also clinched playoff spots.
The Mississippi Coast is split between Region 8 and Region 9, and each region sends two teams to the 16-team statewide postseason.
The Indians were the first team on the Coast to clinch a district title when they did so last week by upsetting reigning state champions St. Martin in overtime.
“They’ve done a very good job of coming to play and focusing on working on their basic skills,” Biloxi coach Scott Lesley said of his team. “They’ve taken a lot of pride in it. We’re having a lot of fun, but at the same time they’re doing a good job.”
Biloxi is a first-year team in the second-year sport and under the guidance of a veteran tackle football coach from Alabama.
It won its first four games of the same before an inconsequential loss to West Harrison on Thursday.
“It’s been incredible,” Lesley said of his team quickly learning a new sport in less than two months time. “We couldn’t even catch and throw the balls early, but they’ve come together and really done well. We work a lot of the fundamental skills, and it’s amazing how much we’ve progressed in the last five weeks from a fundamental standpoint.”
The second playoff spot out of Region 8 wasn’t decided without dramatics. The Yellow Jackets and Picayune met in a winner-plays-on situation. The Maroon Tide held a 12-6 lead until St. Martin’s Emma Chester found Khloe Letort in traffic for a 15-yard touchdown. Chester then converted the extra point on a short pass to Kaylenn Martin.
Biloxi and St. Martin will be matched up with Region 9 in the first round of the playoffs next week.
That district was decided on the final day with two games featuring four teams with identical 3-1 records. Pascagoula survived Gautier, 12-7, and George County bested East Central, 18-0.
Because of the Panthers’ prior win over the Rebels, it’s Pascagoula who gets the top seed.
“Super proud of my girls and how hard they fought tonight for the win,” Panther coach Josh Priddy said. “We had a goal at the beginning of the season to compete for a state championship and get a gold ball. We have some stuff we need to clean up and get better at, and we look forward to next week getting a chance to compete and move one step closer to the gold ball.”
Biloxi will face George County next week at Biloxi while the Panthers will host St. Martin.
