By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

PASCAGOULA — It was a busy weekend for veteran Pascagoula head football coach Lewis Sims.

After all, he served as the defensive coordinator for his home state Saturday in the prestigious Alabama/Mississippi All-Star football Classic in Mobile, and upon returning home he got to watch his alma mater Navy beat Army in that annual affair as well.

Also after the game, he put away all the rumors of his near future concerning retirement after a talk with his wife and then finalized his schedule for next season as well.

Sims confirmed exclusively to SouthMiss6 Sports Sunday night that he will be back for his 15th season next year at the helm of the Panthers despite earlier thoughts about retiring in April with 25 years of service in the Mississippi Public Education System under his belt.

“After talking with my family, coaches and administration, it became apparent that I still have the drive and motivation to continue teaching and coaching.” Sims, who guided PHS to its best record at 9-3 this season in 11 years, said. He has led PHS to five seasons in which it won either nine, 10 or 11 games so far.

“With retirement rumors swirling, I needed to put all the rumors to rest and let my team and coaches know that my plan is continue teaching and coaching until either the fire is gone or Pascagoula decides to go in a new direction. I have been blessed with a supportive wife and family as well as a group of unselfish coaches who only want what is best for Pascagoula. That being said, Go Goula! Let’s go!”

In addition to that decision, Sims also added the final piece to the puzzle which is his Panthers’ 2025 schedule when he and Gulfport head coach Blake Pennock agreed to meet in week five next season.

The game will mark the 100th meeting all time between the two long-time foes dating back to the old Big Eight Conference Days and even before.

In addition, the Panthers will get old Jackson County rival Ocean Springs back on their slate again next year also. The Greyhounds and Admirals had not played PHS in each of the past two seasons after the first-ever expansion to seven classifications by The Mississippi High School Activities Association two years ago.

Pascagoula will also face Moss Point, Biloxi and D’Iberville in pre-region play once again next season also.

“Our goal is to compete for a gold ball,” Sims added. “You only do that by playing the very best teams you can play. Our schedule next year starts with our traditional rival Moss Point, who is always tough and ready to play. After that we play all four playoff teams from Region 4-7A in 2024. With Biloxi, Ocean Springs, Disney D’iberville, and Gulfport on the schedule, we should be battle tested to compete for a region 4-6A championship in 2025.”

In addition to Moss Point and the annual “Battle of the Cats”, the Panthers will also face their other in-county rival in Gautier again as well in the annual “Singing River Classic”. However, the Gators moved up from Class 5A to Class 6A in recent reclassification and will now join PHS in Region 4-6A along with perennial state power Picayune, Hancock, West Harrison and Pearl River Central.

That means that for the third straight season, Pascgaoula will not have to travel out of the “Southern Six” footprint for a regular season game or face another team out of the “Southern Six” as well.

“That was absolutely by design,” Sims said, before the most recent season started. “Once there was an expansion to seven classifications we realized there’s way too many quality teams down here on the Coast that we could schedule that wouldn’t be in our region. That included Biloxi and D’Iberville, who we have had long-running rivalries with over the years, as well as our traditional arch-rivals in Moss Point and Gautier.”

Pascagoula won’t face George County, West Harrison or East Central next season.

Here are the 2025 football opponents for Pascagoula in order of the schedule:

Moss Point

Biloxi

Ocean Springs

D’Iberville

Gulfport

Open Date

Picayune

Long Beach

Hancock

Pearl River Central

Gautier