By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

Bay High will renew rivalries on the football field with an old familiar face in Hancock County this season.

When the Tigers host Hancock on the first Friday in October in week six on Oct., 3rd,it will mark the first meeting between the two intra-county foes on the football field in nine years, since 2016.

It will also be the 56th all-time meeting between the two programs in a series that dates back to 1959. And even though Bay High holds a significant 34-21 lead in the all-time affair, the Tigers will be looking to snap a four game losing streak in the series.

The last time Bay High beat Hancock was a 35-0 decision in 2012. The Hawks then won the next four meetings four 2013-2016 including 49-0 at McCulloch Stadium/Tank Williams Field in the Bay in 2016 which was the last meeting until this year.

Battle for the Crab Trap

In addition, Bay High will continue its annual affair with its other Hancock County rival, St. Stanislaus, this season as well in the annual “Battle for the Crab Trap”.

This season will mark the 20th consecutive season in which the Tigers and neighborhood rival Rock-A-Chaws have faced each other on the gridiron, and 29th time in the past 30 years.

The last time the two teams didn’t meet was 20 years ago in the 2005 campaign, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. They also didn’t play in 1995, in a series that dates back to 1929.

In 1995, the annual contest was not played due to vandalism at both schools. The series returned the next year, in 1996, rebranded as the “Battle for the Crab Trap”.

The teams met every year from 1968-1995. St. Stanislaus leads the all-time series 36-20. The current steak of 20 straight games without interruption is the longest in the series since a span of 1976-1994.

The teams met twice during the 1978 season.

The Rocks have won three straight in this series and 11 of the past 12 games.

Meanwhile, Hancock and St. Stanislaus haven’t met since 2014.

Nearby Neighbors

That contest with Hancock will be the final pre-region contest of the season for Bay High and four straight Region 8-4A contests will follow.

Bay High returns to its longtime home in Region 8-4A this season, along with Pass Christian, Moss Point, Greene County and newcomer Forrest County AHS. The Aggies replaced defending Class 4A state champion Poplarville, who replaced FCAHS in Region 7-4A this year.

When Bay ends the regular season against longtime rival Pass Christian, it will mark the 73rd meeting all-time between the Tigers and Pirates. It marks the longest-running rivalry for each school on the football field.

Bay High leads the all-time series 41-29-2.