By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

(Editors Note: This is the fifth 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.)

BAY ST. LOUIS — After one season as an assistant coach, Katlan French is back in the saddle as a head football coach in the “Southern Six”.

French was named as the new leader of the Bay High program a couple of months back. He spent last season as the defensive coordinator at Gulfport High, but prior to that he served six seasons as the head coach at Biloxi.

He takes over a Tiger team that qualified for the Class 4A South State playoffs in four of the past five seasons under his predecessor Jeremy Turcotte.

Turcotte filled the role as head coach at his alma mater for five seasons, and although he went just 20-31 overall in that span before Turcotte arrived Bay High hadn’t qualified for the state football playoffs since 2012. In fact, his span of making the state playoffs four times in five years is the best ever in Tigers program history. Bay High was 1-4 in that streak with a first round win over Quitman in 2021, and BHS is just 3-13 in 16 all-time postseason games since the implementation of a state-wide football playoff system 41 years ago.

French went 34-32 at Biloxi in what marked his first stint as a head coach, but was 0-4 in the state playoffs.

“Coach French brings a wealth of experience and we are confident that Coach French’s leadership and dedication will inspire our student-athletes and elevate the Bay High football program to new heights,” the Bay-Waveland School District Athletics Department posted on social media recently.

French will lead Bay back into familiar territory in Region 8-4A, but there has been one slight change in the league as reigning Class 4A state champion Poplarville departs for Region 7-4A and Forrest County fills that open spot.

Despite winning its first state title last year, Poplarville finished in second place in the league race behind Greene County.

Region 8-4A:

Moss Point

Bay High

Pass Christian

Greene County

Forrest County AHS

Bay High opens the Katlan French era in Carriere against Pearl River Central on Friday, Aug., 29th.