By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

Catching up on some news and notes as we head into another long, hot Summer:

When Ocean Springs opens the 2025 prep football season on the road at historic Ray Stadium in Meridian, it’ll mark an historic outing for both teams.

That’s because the Greyhounds and Wildcats have never met in the regular season. Ocean Springs and once perennial state power Meridian have met four times overall, but all four of those meetings came in the state playoffs.

The Wildcats have won all four of the past games, including a stunning upset in Greyhound Stadium to open the Class 7A South State playoffs two years ago. That contest also marks the only time the two teams met in Ocean Springs.

The all-time series goes back just 19 years, to a 42-14 Wildcats win in 2006. The other two match-ups were blowouts by Meridian at home also, 50-14 the next season and 22-0 in 2010.

The 2025 season opener between the two teams is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 28th.

On the road again

Pascagoula’s Silas Corder’s stay in Hattiesburg didn’t last long.

The former record-setting Panthers quarterback enrolled at Southern Miss just after the first of the year, and participated in spring training with the Golden Eagles under the direction of new head coach Charles Huff.

But soon after the dills ended, Corder announced on social media that he was leaving the program and was in search of a new place to play.

As of Thursday Corder still hadn’t identified on social media his latest destination.

Old faces in new places

A pair of former head football coaches in the “Southern Six” have surfaced in new homes as well, and both are staying close to home.

Former Hancock head coach Neil Lollar latched on in Picayune on Maroon Tide head coach Cody Stogner’s staff. Lollar will direct the perennial state power Picayune’s linebackers and special teams units.

Lollar’s stay at Hancock spanned the last eight seasons. Hancock finished 3-9 overall last year, including a 48-14 loss to home-standing Hattiesburg in the opening round of the Class 6A South State playoffs after the Hawks finished as the fourth seed in Region 4-6A for the second straight season. The latest trip to the postseason marked the fourth overall for HHS during Lollar’s tenure and their third straight trip. He ended up 42-49 overall including 1-4 in the state playoffs that included perhaps the biggest football win in school history over the past four decades in a 30-27 win over perennial state power Brandon in Lollar’s first year in the Kiln in 2017 to open the Class 6A South State playoffs that season.

Also, former Bay High head coach Jeremy Turcotte is the new offensive coordinator at Harrison Central under second-year Red Rebels’ head coach Nakemia Rich.

Turcotte’s stay at his alma mater Bay High ended after five seasons at the helm of the Tigers.

He went 20-31 in that span, and he guided the Tigers to four state playoff appearances in his five seasons in charge, including last year. Bay High ended its season last week with a 49-7 loss on the road to Forest in the opening round of the Class 4A South State playoffs.