Pearl River Central climbs to No. 2 in final regular season Sun Herald Top 10
The final week of the regular season on the Coast led to plenty of surprises and upheavals.
Pearl River Central, Resurrection, Pascagoula and D'Iberville all made moves up the poll in the penultimate Sun Herald rankings of the 2015 season, while Ocean Springs, St. Martin and Poplarville each slipped.
No. 1 Gulfport (9-2) took care of business against rival Biloxi, defeating the Indians 27-0 before the Admirals host Meridian in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs. To no one's surprise, stand out running back Deon Cole led GHS with 177 yards on 19 carries.
PRC (10-1) climbed one spot to No. 2 after rolling rival Picayune 31-14. The Blue Devils are in the midst of a magical season considering what the team endured at the start of the season with the loss of sophomore Shane Smith. Michael Tatman helped lead PRC with 125 yards and a touchdown. Christian Roberts had 108 yards and three touchdowns, while Hunter Holifield chipped in another two scores.
No. 3 Ocean Springs (8-3) slipped one spot after falling for the third year in a row to No. 8 Harrison Central. The Greyhounds are currently riding a two-game losing streak and will need to turn things around quickly as they were sent on the road to Oak Grove because of the loss. As for the Red Rebels (6-6), which stayed the same this week, the victory catapulted them to the second seed in Region 4-6A.
"These kids fight hard and they're starting to believe," HCHS coach Casey Cain said after the victory, where the Red Rebels chased OSHS quarterback Drew Windham for much of the night. "I believe we have the best defensive front on the Coast."
No. 4 Resurrection (10-0) continues to absolutely smother its opposition. Friday, the Eagles blanked Salem 21-0 to record their sixth shutout in 10 games.
St. Martin and Pascagoula tied for fifth with 17 points this week. The Yellow Jackets (9-3) had their season come to an abrupt end as they lost 34-33 to previously unranked D'Iberville. Pascagoula (8-3), meanwhile, knocked off rival Gautier 17-9 on what turned out to be an emotional night due to the deaths of former Pascagoula football stars, Keith Joseph Jr. and his father.
No. 7 St. Stanislaus poured it on overwhelmed Quitman on Friday to open the Class 4A playoffs. Quarterback Myles Brennan threw for 295 yards and four touchdowns as the Rockachaws pulled most of their starters by halftime. Brennan now has 101 passing touchdowns in his prep career.
No. 9 East Central slipped one spot after squeaking out a 32-30 win over Northeast Jones in the Class 4A playoff opener. A.J. Davis cracked 2,600 rushing yards on the season with a 295-yard performance. He also scored four touchdowns. With the performance, Davis landed on 2,663 yards to eclipse Nate Cohen's school record of 2,436.
D'Iberville (6-6) jumped back into the top 10, tying East Central with four points, after its come-from-behind win over rival St. Martin. The 34-33 win makes it 12 straight for the Warriors in the series and helped them scratch their way into the Class 6A playoffs. D'Iberville's Izayiah Jacob rushed for 188 yards in the win, scoring three touchdowns. Louisville commit Jacquelle Green racked up 260 total yards of offense.
Next up
In Class 6A playoff action, No. 3 Ocean Springs travels to Oak Grove, No. 9 D'Iberville will visit Brandon and NO. 8 Harrison Central will host Petal. In Class 5A, No. 2 Pearl River Central will host Natchez and Brookhaven visits No. 5 Pascagoula. The Class 4A slate will feature No. 7 St. Stanislaus at Poplarville, and No. 9 East Central will visit Lawrence County along with Purvis at Vancleave. Class 1A's Resurrection, ranked No. 4, will host Sebastopol at Gautier High.
-- The next Sun Herald Top 10 will be released following the completion of the playoffs.
This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Pearl River Central climbs to No. 2 in final regular season Sun Herald Top 10 ."