By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

It’s Game Week bay-bee!!!!!!

And the staff here at SouthMiss6 Sports will have you covered from the opening kickoff in late August until the final horn sounds in early December for all seven state championship games.

Beginning this week, with the first game in the “Southern Six” set for Thursday night, we will roll out our complete and comprehensive daily coverage once again this school year.

Our weekly features consist of our “Weekend Rewind” on Sunday afternoon, “A Look Ahead” on Monday and our “Super 7 in the Southern 6 Poll” and “Prep Notebook” on Tuesday as well as our “Game Ball of the Week” and “Game of the Week” on Wednesdays plus the “Rock’s Locks’ picks on Thursday and on Friday’s our “Southern Six Senior Spotlight”.

Plus, every Friday night (and on some Thursdays also) we will cover as many as 10 games each week with complete coverage including game stories and photos beginning Friday night and continuing throughout the day on Saturday.

And then we’ll start it all again Sunday afternoon, once more with the “Weekend Rewind”.

NO OTHER media outlet is as dedicated to and covers high school sports in the “Southern Six” like we do here at SouthMiss6 Sports. We make it a point to go the extra mile when providing you with all the sights and info you need to stay updated and informed throughout the prep football season and beyond.

After we kick things off this week in Meridian with Ocean Springs Thursday night, the first Friday of action will be the perfect way to show all how much coverage we will provide to our readers again this year. That’s because for one of the first times this century, the opening week of prep football season in the “Southern Six” will be almost exclusively a family affair.

Of the 23 teams sanctioned by the Mississippi High School Activities Association in action on that date, 16 of them will face a fellow foe from one of the lower six counties in South Mississippi.

Eight of the 15 contests on Fri., Aug 29th, will feature “Southern Six” squads battling it out with one another.

The annual Battle of the Cats in Jackson County between longtime arch-rivals Pascagoula and Moss Point is by far the most traditional rivalry of the eight game schedule in week one. The Panthers head across Jefferson Street to Dantzler Stadium to face the home-standing Tigers.

In addition to the Pascagoula-Moss Point game, the other seven all “Southern Six” affairs are Picayune at Gulfport, West Harrison at Poplarville, St. Martin at Vancleave, Gautier at George County, Bay High at Pearl River Central, Long Beach at Pass Christian and Stone at Hancock.

Seven other teams in that footprint face foes from other parts of the state.

So, Y’all stay tuned and stick with us here at SouthMiss6 Sports for all the coverage during the school year you’ll ever need for prep sports here in the “Southern Six”.

Here is the complete opening week schedule:

THURSDAY’S GAME

Ocean Springs at Meridian

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Bay High at Pearl River Central

Forrest Co. AHS at St. Stanislaus

Gautier at George County

Greene County at East Central

Harrison Central at Lanier (Hughes Field)

Holmes County at Biloxi

Long Beach at Pass Christian

Pascagoula at Moss Point

Picayune at Gulfport

Raleigh at D’Iberville

Resurrection at Clarkdale

St. Martin at Vancleave

Stone at Hancock

West Harrison at Poplarville

Christian Collegiate at St. Patrick