PATRICK'S PICKS: Coast 4A teams look to repeat success
After all five Class 4A Coast squads picked up first-round playoff wins a week ago, those same teams will look to build on that success in the second round of competition Friday.
Vancleave, Moss Point and Poplarville won on the road last week while East Central and St. Stanislaus both picked up victories at home.
A year after Poplarville upset St. Stanislaus, 47-46, during the regular season, the two teams meet again Friday in Poplarville in a second-round contest.
Moss Point travels to North Pike while East Central makes the difficult trek to Lawrence County.
Vancleave (5-7) plays at home Friday against Region 7-4A champion Purvis (7-4).
With three 4A teams pulling off surprising wins on the road, Patrick's Picks stumbled to 9-5 last week to make my overall record 118-40.
With Class 5A and Class 6A playoffs starting up this week, there should only be more surprises.
Gulfport 21, Meridian 14: The No. 1 Admirals (9-2) will take on a Meridian team (6-5) that finished in fourth place in 3-6A with a mark of 5-2, including a win over region champ Brandon. This may be the toughest matchup for a No. 1 seed in the state, but Gulfport has proven up to the task all season.
Brandon 28, D'Iberville 24: The Warriors (6-6) are as talented as any team left in the postseason. We'll see if they can build on last week's 34-33 win over St. Martin, but this is a long trek to take on a good Brandon team (10-2).
Harrison Central 28, Petal 17: If it wasn't for a last-minute defeat to Gulfport, Harrison Central would have been the champions of 4-6A. It's been a special season in Casey Cain's first year on the job at Harrison Central and it should continue into the second round.
Oak Grove 28, Ocean Springs 20: Following back-to-back losses to close out the regular season, you wonder if the Greyhounds (8-3) peaked too early in the season.
Pearl River Central 35, Natchez 10: The Blue Devils (10-1) should make quick work of their first-round opponent. With a win, PRC will play the winner of Picayune-Wayne County next week.
Pascagoula 21, Brookhaven 10: Pascagoula (8-3) has been through a very tough week following the deaths of Keith Joseph Jr. and Keith Joseph Sr. Head coach Lewis Sims has liked how his team has responded and they should come out with a victory at home.
Wayne County 38, Picayune 20: The Maroon Tide (5-6) have the toughest assignment of any team on the Coast this week. It's never easy to win in Waynesboro.
St. Stanislaus 35, Poplarville 21: The Rockachaws (8-3) remember what happened last year in the overtime loss to Poplarville. The Hornets have the home field advantage, but SSC will be a motivated group.
Moss Point 21, North Pike 17: The Tigers may have had the most impressive win last week in a 20-14 victory at West Lauderdale (9-3). I'm betting on Moss Point to make a deep run into the postseason. North Pike enters the game at 9-3.
Purvis 21, Vancleave 20: Purvis has won six straight games since losing 21-7 at East Central on Sept. 25. Vancleave has picked up back-to-back impressive wins over East Central and Mendenhall, but Purvis should be well prepared. Lawrence County 24, East Central 21: Lawrence County (11-1) has won 10 straight games and is one of the favorites to make the trip to the 4A state title game. East Central will challenge the Cougars on the road, but it's a tough trip to Monticello.
Resurrection 21, Sebastopol 0: The Eagles (10-0) have used a dominant defense to get to this point and it's a good reason they're a favorite to reach the championship game in Class 1A.
This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 6:31 PM with the headline "PATRICK'S PICKS: Coast 4A teams look to repeat success ."