By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

BILOXI — It’s almost certain that the St. Patrick football team won’t have as bad a record this season as it did last year.

Almost.

The Fighting Irish didn’t have many highlights last year, finishing at 0-9 overall, including 0-4 in Region 8-3A play. St. Patrick enters the new season on a 14 game losing streak, after going 2-7 in 2023 and losing its final five games of that season.

St. Patrick has just nine regular season games slated for the upcoming campaign as well. Also, the Fighting Irish enter a revamped Region 8-3A having won just three of its past 20 contests dating back to late in the 2022 season.

Head coach Nate Encrapera enters his second season at the helm of the Fighting Irish.

“I got the job in July last year before the season started,” Encrapera said, in a recent interview. “What we really wanted to do was get the right coaches in the building, and I think we’ve done that. We’ve been able to bring some guys in that have experience in turning programs around.”

Last season marked the second time in nine seasons that SPHS went win-less through a season, and first since the Fighting Irish went 0-11 in 2016.

The new region alignment included some historical changes that may or may not bode well for holdover members of the loop, losing just one school in Perry Central but gaining a former private school powerhouse in Presbyterian Christian.

Region 8-3A:

St. Stanislaus

St. Patrick

Presbyterian Christian

Tylertown

West Marion

PCS, Tylertown, West Marion and SSC all qualified for the state playoffs last year. In fact, SPHS was the only member of the old or new Region 8-3A that didn’t make the Class 3A South State playoffs last season. It has been five years since the Fighting Irish qualified for the playoffs.

“I think we made a lot of good strides in the Spring,” Encrapera added. “We worked on developing speed and stretngth, and I feel like across the board we improved in both areas. And we had a good Summer.”

St. Patrick will rely on sophomore running back Liam Richards offensively this season after he led the team in rushing as just a freshman last year.

Defensively, outside linebacker Nash Rubenstien will need to be accounted for by opposing offensive units.

And, up front in the trenches, lineman Brady Gopffarth will be counted on to open holes and make some stops also.

St. Patrick opens the season at home on Friday, Aug., 29th, against Christian Collegiate Academy.