By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

Week number five of the prep football season is upon us.

And Rock’s Locks is back for more pigskin picks.

Rock’s Locks went a season best 11-2 last week to move up a bit after the first four weeks of picks. We stand 38-14 overall entering week five.

Remember, a ‘lock” in the world of sports “for entertainment purposes only” means a sure thing, a solid pick.

Rock’s Locks was a steady feature in several daily newspapers (remember those?) across South Mississippi for much of the past three decades and has been a part of the journalistic fabric of prep football across the “Southern Six” for most of that time frame as well. Each week we will attempt to provide some insight with some prep pigskin prognosticator picks and provide you readers with much material to ridicule me with I am sure.

Just like the first few weeks, there are more all “Southern Six” match-ups this week as well and also a few teams have open dates.

On the heels of our nifty 11-2 mark last week, and in the words of the late, great Jerry Jeff Walker…”Don’t it make you wanna dance?, and don’t it make you wanna smile…?”

1. Biloxi at Pascagoula — Pascagoula and Biloxi are on course for a historic meeting on the football field this week. When the Panthers host the Indians in this renewal of an old Big Eight Conference rivalry, it’ll mark the 100th meeting ever on the gridiron between the schools. The series is the longest running rivalry for the Panthers in football, and the second longest for the Indians who will play long time arch-rival Gulfport for the 102nd time this season in two weeks. Pascagoula stands 3-1 while Biloxi sits an even 2-2. The Panthers managed a season low 21 points in a 14-point. win over D’Iberville this week, and the Indians present another stout defensive presence after allowing unbeaten Hattiesburg just 12 points last week. Pascagoula 17, Biloxi 14.
2. Picayune at Ocean Springs — If someone would have told you that a pair of teams that combined for a 71-8 record over the past three season coming into the current campaign would face off at the end of September with neither having a winning record would you have believed it? Probably not, but that’s exactly the case as the Maroon Tide heads south to Greyhound Stadium to meet the home team Friday night. Ocean Springs is 1-3 and is coming off its first win of the season while visiting Gulfport completely dominated Picayune at Lee-Triplett Stadium 41-21 last week to drop the Maroon Tide to 2-2. Picayune has allowed 120 points in three games against competition from the state of Mississippi so far this season, while despite opening the season with three straight losses OSHS is averaging almost 30 points per game in four contests. Picayune is just 2-3 in its last five games dating back to the end of last season allowing 162 points in that span. Ocean Springs 30, Picayune 21.
3. West Harrison at Moss Point— Two teams headed in opposite directions face off at Dantzler Stadium Friday night as the win-less Tigers host the suddenly surging Hurricanes. West Harrison is on a three game winning streak entering the fray, while Moss Point sits at 0-4. This is the Homecoming game for the Tigers, but their fans won’t have much to celebrate once the ball is put in play…West Harrison 33, Moss Point 13.
4. St. Martin at East Central — A pair of teams off to sluggish starts meet at Shirley Stadium in Hurley as the Hornets welcome in the Yellow Jackets in this cross county affair. East Central is coming off its first win of the season after three straight losses to begin the year, while St. Martin sits at an even 2-2 after falling to visiting Stone last week. This is the 51st all-time meeting in this all Jackson County rivalry, and the Yellow Jackets have won five of the last six games over the past 12 years however the Hornets stopped a five game losing streak in the series with a big 42-6 road win last season. St. Martin hasn’t won a road game in almost three years, with the last one coming on Oct.1st, 2021 against Hancock. That streak ends this week…St. Martin 14, East Central 12.
5. Brandon at Gulfport — Two teams off to solid 3-1 starts to the season meet up at historic Milner Stadium as the Admirals host the perennial state power Bulldogs Friday night. Gulfport is coming off of that aforementioned 20-point pounding of Picayune last week, while Brandon bounced back from its first loss of the season with a close 29-28 win over Warren Central. The teams have one common opponent on the season, as Madison Central lost to Brandon 2-17 in week two before bouncing back to knock off visiting Gulfport 31-21 in the next week. This marks 11th all-time meeting between the schools on the gridiron dating back to 1948 and the Bulldogs have won five straight going back to 1999 including 35-20 at home last year and a 20-13 decision in four overtimes in Gulfport four years ago. We see this streak continuing…Brandon 28, Gulfport 24.
6. Poplarville at West Jones — The Hornets head to Soso as the only unbeaten team left at the end of September in the “Southern Six” to meet another unbeaten team in the defending Class 6A state champion Mustangs. Both teams sit 4-0 and the Mustangs are riding high on an 18-game winning streak, which included a 42-0 road win over Poplarville en route to that perfect 14-0 state title run. We think the Hornets head back to Pearl River County with their first loss of the season...West Jones 31, Poparville 15.
7. Vancleave at Hancock — Again, a pair of teams coming off of much different results meet up at Brett Favre Field in the Kiln as the home-standing Hawks host the Bulldogs. Vancleave stand 2-2 overall after an exciting win over George County last week, while the Hawks sit at 1-3 after allowing as many as 49 points in a loss for the second time in four outings last week. Hancock is trying to avoid its first 1-4 start to season in four years, since the Covid campaign in 2020. Vancleave 24, Hancock 17.

A Six pack to Go:

Resurrection 28, St. Patrick 7

Bay High 7, PRC 6

Petal 50, Long Beach 15

Northeast Jones 16, Pass Christian 13

Quitman 18, Stone 14

George County 13, Wayne County 7