By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

PASCAGOULA — Pascagoula shook a big monkey off its back Friday night.
In fact, after nine years the familiar nemesis had grown into a gorilla.
The Panthers knocked off visiting D’Iberville 21-7 at War Memorial Stadium for Homecoming, moving to 3-1 on the season and bouncing back from their first loss of the season in the process.
The win was the first for Pascagoula over the Warriors on the gridiron since 2015, and snapped a six-game losing streak to D’Iberville in this annual affair.

“Streaks are meant to be broken, and it felt good to finally end Diberville’s dominance over us,” veteran Pascagoula head coach Lewis Sims said. “Total team effort. We did not let the distractions on homecoming distract us from our purpose Friday night. We played team football where the offense and defense came together as one. Credit the coaches for creating a solid plan on both sides and the players for executing.”

D’Iberville dropped its second straight game after the Warriors opened the season at 2-0.
Pascagoula won the turnover battle four to one, and was able to capitalize on several of those miscues to take a 21-7 halftime lead.
The teams merely traded field position in a scoreless second half, as PHS held the Warriors to their lowest point total in this series since the first game ever between the two teams a 12-7 win in 1981.

The six game losing streak was the longest to any one opponent in Sim’s 14-year tenure at PHS.
The first half came down to D’Iberville mistakes and Pascagoula’s Amarie Jackson.
The Warriors fumbled the ball away three times, and Jackson and the Panther made them pay almost every time.

Jackson, a junior tailback, put Pascagoula ahead quickly as he scored on a 4-yard run to cap off the opening drive of the game to make it 7-0.
The teams traded miscues as the opening quarter continued to unfold, as Pascagoula’s Tomareo Johnson recovered a Warrior fumble and Warrior defender Joshua Johnson picked off Panther quarterback Silas Corder to end a PHS drive.
D’Iberville knotted things up early in the second stanza on a 1-yard plunge by Jeremiah Butler.
But DHS fumbled the ball away on its next two possessions, as Pascagoula defenders Wyatt Henderson and Sebastian Ford recovered the loose balls, enabling the Panthers to take a two touchdown advantage into halftime thanks to two more Jackson touchdowns.
First, after Henderson’s recovery, Corder found Jackson sprinting out of the backfield along the home sidelines and he raced 64-yards with a touchdown toss to make it 14-7.

Then, after Ford’s recovery which came just three plays after the ensuing kickoff, Jackson took the pitch and scampered five yards for yet another score late in the first half to make it 21-7 after Mason Kramer’s third point-after of the opening half..

Early in the second half, Pascagoula standout safety Tylan Wilson picked off a pass by DHS quarterback Conner Jones at the Panther goal line to end the most serious threat of the second half by either team.

“Credit D’iberville foe fighting hard and playing tough football,” Sims concluded. “Coach (Josh) Ladner has a good squad. They are well coached and play hard. Good luck to the Warriors the rest of the year.”

Pascagoula remain at home for the fourth of five games to open the season as Biloxi comes calling, while into their open date.