By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

Prep football practice officially starts for Mississippi High School Activities Association-sanctioned schools all across the state of Mississippi on Monday.

And that includes all 24 squads in the “Southern Six”.

Yes, from the largest to the smallest, all teams and players with their sights set on bringing home a gold football in December will hit the practice field this week to begin preseason camp.

In Gautier, the defending Class 5A South State champion Gators are back on the field after an historic season on the gridiron last season that saw them play for the state championship for the first time ever.

“I’m looking forward to seeing all the hard work and dedication the kids put together in the summer months,” High told SouthMiss6 Sports Monday morning.

High returns for another year at the helm of the Gators at the top of his two-plus decades as a coach in the “Southern Six”. He has guided Gautier to an impressive 30-8 mark over the past three seasons, including a 12-2 mark last season, and the Gators have played in three straight Class 5A South State championship contests. The 12 wins in a season last year established a new program record.

Gautier fell in heart-breaking fashion to perennial state power West Point in the state title tilt 28-21 in early December in Hattiesburg at M.M. Roberts Stadium on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi.

Another veteran mentor in the “Southern Six” that’s at the top of his game coming into the season is Poplarville head coach Jay Beech. He and his defending Class 4A state champion Hornets hit the practice field for the first time this season Monday afternoon as well.

After years of knocking on the door, PHS finally broke it down and captured the first-ever state title in program history last season. Poplarville won it’s first ever state championship on the football field last season, as the Hornets overcame an eight point deficit in the fourth quarter to pull out a heart-stopping 29-28 win over perennial state power Louisville also in the Hub City in early December.

Beech and his assistants were selected as “Football Coach and Staff of the Year” for 2024-2025 as presented annually by The Mississippi Association of Coaches for that accomplishment. Beech is 119-34 at the helm of the Hornets over the past 11 seasons, with 35 of those wins coming in the state playoffs.

Beech was named as the Class 4A “Coach of the Year” after that historic outcome. He also became the all-time leader in wins for a head coach at Poplarville during last season. Poplarvile has won five Class 4A South State titles during that span.