By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

GAUTIER — Gautier has shown a knack for late game heroics so far this season.
The home-standing Gators nipped arch-rival Pascagoula 38-31 Friday night in the annual “Singing River Classic” showdown, scoring the game’s final points with just :38 seconds left in regulation.
With both teams running on fumes in a game that lasted almost three hours and 30 minutes, Gautier running back Latrell Pogue provided the decisive points on a 4-yard touchdown jaunt.

“Proud of how we answered every time they scored,” Gautier head coach Marc High said. “It was a great team win. It was about time we showed what we thought we could do offensively.”
The Gators jumped ahead 10-0 after the first quarter thanks to the special teams, as Gabriel Millender returned a blocked field goal attempt 56-yards for a touchdown and Gator kicker Eric Robinson nailed a 22-yard field goal.
But Pascagoula fought back on a 41-yard touchdown pass from Silas Corder to D’lass Nunnery to cut the deficit to 10-7 as the second stanza unfolded, and Gautier responded with a 10-yard scoring scamper from quarterback Trey Irving to return the Gator lead to double digits at halftime at 17-7.
The two quarterbacks got things rolling in the third frame, as Corder hit Darrius Carter with a 14-yard scoring strike and Gautier countered with Irving’s second touchdown run this one from 4-yards out to make it 24-14.

Amarie Jackson’s 16-yard scoring run pushed Pascagoula closer at 24-21, but again the Gators answered on a 72-yard scoring scamper from Kasin Thomas to make it 31-21.
The Panthers followed with 10 straight points to knot things up for the first time since kickoff, thanks to an 11-yard touchdown run by Jackson and a 30-yard game-tying field goal by Mason Kramer with 2:45 left in the final period to tie it up at 31-31.
But just as they had done all night, Gautier responded driving quickly down the field for the game-winning score by Pogue.

Pascagoula hasn’t won in Gautier since 2019. The Panthers were denied a 3-0 start to a season for the second straight season, which included an exciting 28-27 home win over the Gators last year.
Gautier kicked off the season with an exciting 26-23 win in overtime in the Port City Bowl at historic Milner Stadium in Gulfport. Both Pascagoula and Gautier now sit at 2-1 on the young campaign.

Pascagoula returns home to War Memorial Stadium to host D’Iberville next week while Gautier heads to Moss Point.