By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

(Editors Note: This is the second of a six part series on how the schedule for the six new head football coaches in the “Southern Six” shape up for next season.)

ST. MARTIN — Woody Cagnolatti enters not only his first season as head coach at St. Martin High, but also his inaugural season as a head coach in South Mississippi on the prep level this season

Cagnolatti was elevated from the post of defensive coordinator to the top spot. He becomes the third straight Yellow Jacket mentor in the past 15 seasons hired with no prior experience as a head coach in the state of Mississippi after Edie Wayne Whitehead and Ty Smith.

He replaces Smith, who left his position several months ago and eventually accepted the head coaching position at Ben Lomond High School in Ogden, Utah.

Smith went just 6-25 from 2022-2024, but St. Martin went 0-17 in Region 4-7A play during that span. Cagnolatti becomes the third head coach in five seasons for the Yellow Jackets.

And, he will also face a new schedule in his first season at the helm, as SMHS goes from a six team Region 4-7A the past two seasons to a seven team league this coming season with the addition of new loop foe West Harrison.

In fact, St. Martin will host those Hurricanes in their first-ever region game as a member of the largest classification in the state as the two open Region 4-7A play against one another on Sept. 26th.

However, before that, the Yellow Jackets do get return match-ups with all three foes they defeated last season in non-region action meeting Vancleave, Hancock and East Central in the weeks leading up to the league opener vs. WHHS.

The rest of the region foes are the same as SMHS has faced for most of the past two decades in league play.

Region 4-7A:

Biloxi

Gulfport

Harrison Central

D’Iberville

St. Martin

Ocean Springs

West Harrison