By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

With the start of yet another prep football season across South Mississippi last week, it’s time for our initial installment of “Friday Night Rewind” here at SouthMiss6 Sports.

“Friday Night Rewind” has been a part of the journalistic fabric of prep football across the “Southern Six” for most of the past three decades. Each week of the season we’ll take a look back at the action that took place all across this region the previous week before we move on to the next week.

Here are seven things we noticed in the “Southern 6” Friday night:

1. Roll Tide Roll — The Maroon Tide rolled into Milner Stadium and avenged a bad loss to Gulfport last season with a thrilling 31-28 win Friday night. Picayune trailed for most of the game, but rallied late in the game. Gulfport put together an impressive drive to the Picayune 8-yard line with just under a minute remaining on the game clock, but Gulfport’s hopes came to an end as the drive ended with a Jamari Hathorne interception near the goal line to secure the win for the Maroon Tide.
2. Top Tomcat — Stone paid a visit to Brett Favre Field and ruined the debut of new Hancock head coach Mikey King Friday night with a 31-13 road win. Tomcat running back Ayden Green ran roughshod over the Hawks defense, dashing his way to 273 yards on the ground and three scores and he also hauled in an 80-yard screen pass from quarterback Zander Howard for a score.
3. No Mas (Point) — Visiting Pascagoula jumped out to a commanding 25-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 47-0 win over arch-rival Moss Point. The win pushed the Panthers win streak in the series to five straight, the second such streak in former MPHS linebacker Lewis Sims’ 15 year tenure at PHS  Also, it marks the third straight shutout for PHS in the series, the first time that has happened in over 70 years since 1951-1953. The Panthers have humiliated MPHS to the tune of 126-0 over the past three games, the worst such streak for the Tigers in the 100-year history of the all-time series. Panther tailback Amaarie Jackson had 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns. The Tigers had negative 46 yards on the ground.
4. Perfect Start — St. Martin opened the Woody Cagnolatti era in fine fashion Friday night. The Yellow Jackets swarmed into Vancleave and bombed the Bulldogs 64-21 in the season-opener for both squads. Cagnolatti was in his first game as SMHS head coach after being promoted from defensive coordinator earlier this season. St. Martin’s Seth Crockett was responsible for 370 total yards of offense and five touchdowns in the win. The sophomore threw for 183 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 164 yards and four touchdowns.
5. Swamped — Gautier and George County faced off on the football field for the first time in three years Friday night. And the Gators picked up right where they left off the last time. Gautier, the defending Class 5A South State champ, thumped the home-standing Rebels 35-0 here at Gill-Martin Stadium in the renewal of this series that dates back to 1997. The Gators topped GCHS 49-21 in the last meeting in the 2022 season. Gator tailback Latrell Pogue ran seven times for 126 yards and two touchdowns.
6. Hurricane winds — One of the best-kept secrets on the Gulf Coast may not a secret too much longer, if Jordan Stapleton keeps playing like he did in West Harrison’s 2025 season opener. After rushing for 2,000 yards last season, Stapleton picked right up where he left off, powering the Hurricanes to a 34-18 victory over defending Class 4A state champion Poplarville Friday night at The Hornet’s Nest. Stapleton ran just 13 times for 179 yards and three touchdowns, and caught three passes – the entirety of West Harrison’s passing game – for 81 yards and another score. “He’s special,” said West Harrison head coach Quincy Patrick. “Everything he gets he deserves. He’s earned it. He makes my job and the job of all these coaches a lot easier.”
7. ‘Hound Dog — Ocean Springs got an early jump on the prep football season with a big 35-0 win over home-standing Meridian in historic Ray Stadium Thursday night. In his first-ever varsity start, Greyhound sophomore quarterback Chalmers Berglind threw for 226 yards and four touchdowns.