By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

VANCLEAVE — As Vancleave enters a new football season, the Bulldogs will encounter some old and familiar faces while also engaging some new ones as well.

Head coach Kevin Fant’s crew returns to a revamped Region 4-5A this season that again includes longtime arch-rival East Central, Stone and Wayne County but new to the league this season are Northeast Jones and Purvis, who replace Laurel and Gautier.

The Bulldogs will be renewing rivalries with both new members of that league this season. In week six, when Vancleave welcomes the Tigers into the revamped region in the league opener for both on Friday, Oct., 10th, it will be the first meeting on the football field between the Bulldogs and NEJ in 17 years, since 2008.

Also, VHS hasn’t faced Purvis in a decade, since a 20-17 home win in the Class 4A South State playoffs in the 2015 season. The two teams also battled in the postseason the year before as well, with the visiting Tornadoes thumping VHS 48-24 in the same round of the postseason in the same classification in 2014.

It’s been 10 years longer since VHS faced PHS than it has NEJ in the regular season, as the Bulldogs and Tornadoes will be meeting on the gridiron for the first time since 1998.

New Kid on the Block

As far as non-region action goes, when the Bulldogs travel to Richland in week two on Friday, Sept. 5th, it will mark the first time those two programs have ever faced off on the football field.

The Bulldogs return to Region 4-5A play this season while the Rangers compete in Region 6-4A.

Tiger Tales

Moss Point, Fant’s alma mater, is back on the schedule also after a brief two year break.

The Tigers will host the Bulldogs in week five, on Fri., Sept. 26th at Dantzler Stadium. The two Jackson County rivals met 10 straight times on the football field from 2013-2022 before taking the last two years off.

Moss Point leads the all-time series 8-6, which dates back to a 35-13 MPHS win at home over VHS in 2007.

The teams then met 13 times over the next 17 season with a two year gap also in 2011-2012.

The Bulldogs won’t meet two other “Southern Six” foes this season that had become fairly familiar faces recently in Hancock and George County. Vancleave had faced both the Hawks and Rebels each over the past four seasons.