By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

(Editors Note: This is the sixth 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.)

KILN — Mikey King takes over as the new head football coach at Hancock High entering the upcoming season.

King comes to the Hawks after serving in the same post at Greene County over the past four seasons, going 21-20 overall and just 1-3 in the Class 4A South State playoffs. The Wildcats went 8-1 last year and captured the Region 8-4A title, before being upset by visiting Quitman 34-28 in the opening round of the playoffs.

His recent tenure marked King’s second stint as the leader in Leakesville, after a 28-10 mark from 2017-2019 in which the Wildcats went 3-3 in the Class 4A South State playoffs.

King replaces Neil Lollar at the helm of the Hawks. Lollar lasted eight seasons at HHS. and Hancock finished 3-9 overall including a 48-14 loss to home-standing Hattiesburg in the opening round of the Class 6A South State playoffs last 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.

Before his arrival as head coach at Hancock, the Hawks had qualified for the playoffs just five other times in the first 31 years of a state-wide playoff system. Lollar and legendary Hawks mentor Irvin Favre are the only HHS football head coaches to ever win a playoff game in the history of the program. The Hawks are just 3-9 overall all-time in the playoffs.

King will lead Hancock forward on the gridiron for the Hawks as they once again wage into the Region 4-6A wars for the third straight season, although they are two changes in the composition of the revamped league.

One of the notable items when the new league configurations were announced was that George County would be sent back “north” to compete in Region 3-6A once again.

That meant that Pearl River Central would be enjoying old home week as the Blue Devils will replace the Rebels in the loop.

Also, however, Gautier is moving up a classification and into Class 6A for the first time ever. In addition, Region 4-6A is losing West Harrison which is moving up to Class 7A for the first time ever as well.

Region 4-6A:

Gautier

Hancock

Long Beach

Pascagoula

Pearl River Central

Picayune

The Hawks will now face an all “Southern Six’ slate this season, with five pre-region games and a like number of league contests.

The Mikey King era at Hancock High kicks off on Friday, Aug. 29th at home on Brett Favre Field when Stone comes calling.