By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

LUCEDALE — Pascagoula travels to George County with a lot on the line in Region 4-6A play this week.

And the renewal of this semi-annual rivalry is the “Sonic Big Game of the Week” for SouthMiss6 Sports.

The battle for the second seed in Region 4-6A as well as home-field advantage in the upcoming opening round of the Class 6A South State playoffs takes place at Gill-Martin Stadium in Lucedale Thursday night as the Rebels host the Panthers in the regular season finale for both teams.

This is the same scenario as last season, when GCHS went on the road and pulled out an exciting 43-40 win at War Memorial Stadium to clinch the second spot in the loop.

This is the 22nd all-time meeting between the two teams on the gridiron, with the series being just about as close as it can get with the Rebels up 11-10. This marks the 14th time the squads have met since the series resumed in 2005 after a 13 year hiatus.

Again, just like last season, the winner will host a first round game, and the loser will hit the road to open postseason play.

Picayune has won 23 straight region games and the Maroon Tide clinched their fourth consecutive region championship with a 27-20 win over visiting George County in Region 4-6A play at Lee-Triplett Stadium last week.

The win moves Picayune to 7-2 overall and a perfect 4-0. in the region race, and the Rebels drop to 6-4 overall and 3-1 in league play. Darrell Smith scored two rushing touchdowns in the first half for Picayune and fellow tailback Triston Cooper added a pair in the second in the winning effort.

The Maroon Tide defensive unit forced five star Rebel quarterback Deuce Knight, an Auburn commit, Deuce Knight into three turnovers, including a fumble in the waning seconds as well as a key interception several minutes earlier.

While Picayune and George County had already clinched berths in the upcoming Class 6A South State playoffs before their annual battle, both Pascagoula and Hancock joined the postseason party with big league wins last week as well.

The Panthers sealed at least the third seed in the region race with a 28-20 come-from-behind win over visiting West Harrison at War Memorial Stadium. Pascagoula got a pair of scoring runs from junior tailback Amarie Jackson in the first half along with a pair of key touchdown tosses from senior quarterback Silas Corder in the second half to seal the win.

Meanwhile, in Long Beach, visiting Hancock swooped in and stole a 21-14 victory from Long Beach after the Bearcats held a 14-3 advantage over Hancock at halftime thanks to two touchdown runs by Junior Brown.

Sonic Drive In has been a longtime supporter of prep student/athletes in the “Southern Six” and all across the Southeast. Make sure and stop by the Sonic Drive Inn in Lucedale at 182 Winter St., for all of your pre-game or post game meals.