By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

The prep football season turns 12 weeks old this week, believe it or not, and every team left standing is fighting for a Gold Ball in about four weeks in Hattiesburg.

“A Look Ahead” has been a part of the journalistic fabric of prep football across the “Southern Six” for most of the past three decades. Each week of the season, SouthMiss6 Sports takes a look at the action set to kickoff in that particular week all across this region.

The South State playoffs are in full swing across the “Southern Six” and the state as well this week.

Here are seven games in the “Southern Six’ to keep an eye on this week:

1. Pearl River Central at Picayune — The first meeting in almost 26 months between the longtime and neighboring rivals takes place at Lee-Triplett Stadium Friday night as this old time rivalry is renewed. The Maroon Tide leads the all-time series 26-6, and Picayune has won seventh straight over the Blue Devils with the last PRC win coming in the regular season finale in 2015 also in Picayune. The Maroon Tide is the top seed from Region 4-6A and just won their fourth straight league title, while PRC is the fourth seed from Region 3-6A and is returning to the state playoffs for the first time since that same 2015 season. The two teams have met in the playoffs twice before, in 2014 and 2011.
2. Northwest Rankin at Ocean Springs — The second meeting of the season at Greyhound Stadium between the home teams and the Cougars takes place this week in a rematch from a week three match-up in the regular season. In that game, Northwest Rankin’s Gavin Phillipson hit De’Shawn Dillon for an 8-yard touchdown pass in overtime and then Phillipson connected with Jay Hurt on the game-winning two-point conversion to seal the exciting 29-28 win. The Cougars overcame a two touchdown second half deficit in pulling out the win, after trailing 14-0 early in the third quarter thanks to 21 unanswered points at one point. This marks the sixth all-time meeting between the two, and OSHS leads the series 3-2. Ocean Springs is the top seed in Region 4-7A after winning its fourth straight region title, and NWR is the fourth seed from Region 3-7A.
3. Natchez at Gautier — The second meeting ever on the football field between the Gators and Bulldogs takes place Friday and its the second straight season the two teams have met in the opening round of the Class 5A South State playoffs. Gautier, which won its first region title in 16 years, is the top seed from Region 4-5A and Natchez is the fourth seed from Region 3-5A. Last second, when the Gators were the second seed and the Bulldogs the third seed, Gautier thumped Natchez 50-18.
4. Terry at Pascagoula — The first ever meeting between these two teams on the football field takes place Friday at War Memorial Stadium as the Panthers host the Bulldogs. Pascagoula finished as the second seed in Region 4-6A behind Picayune, while Terry finished as the third seed for the second straight season in Region 3-6A behind Hattiesburg and West Jones. Last season, the Bulldogs also ventured into the “Southern Six” to open the Class 6A South State playoffs and snatched an exciting 41-39 win away from George County. The Panthers are hosting a first round playoff game for the first time in four years and are looking to advance to the second round for the third time in five seasons.
5. George County at West Jones — The Rebels head to Sos0 to open the Class 6A South State playoffs against the defending state champion Mustangs. West Jones ix the second seed from Region 3-6A after falling at home to region champ and unbeaten Hattiesburg last week. George County finished the regular season in disappointing fashion with back-to-back losses including one to visiting Pascagoula last week that dropped the Rebels to the third seed in Region 4-6A. This marks the 14th all-time meeting between these two teams and first since a 24-16 win by the Mustangs in the 2019 season-opener for the two teams.
6. Petal at Gulfport — The 11th all-time meeting between the Admirals and the Panthers takes place Friday night at historic Milner Stadium. Petal leads the all-time series 8-2, but this is the first meeting since the 2018 season opener which resulted in a 33-28 GHS win. In fact, despite being down in the all-time series by a lot, the two teams have split the past four meetings since 20016. Gulfport is looking for its first playoff win in five seasons, since a 20-19 home win over George County, but the Admirals haven’t beaten a team from the Pine Belt area in the state playoffs since a win over Hattiesburg 22 years ago in 2002. Gulfport is the second seed in Region 4-7A and the Panthers are  third seed from Region 3-7A.
7. Poplarville at Columbia — The Hornets head to Walter Payton Field in Marion County to take on the Wildcats in a second round match-up in the Class 4A South State playoffs in what is akin to a “Clash of the Titans”. Poplarville is the second seed from Region 8-4A and Columbia the top seed from Region 7-4A. This marks the 14th all-time meeting on the gridiron between the two teams, and Columbia has won eight times including three out of the last four. The Wildcats ended Poplarville’s season last year in the Class 4A South State championship game 28-21.