By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director
It seems pretty ironic that a new voice is in the radio booth for Pascagoula High football games this year.
And, it seems even more ironic, that his Panthers will face Biloxi this week in the “SouthMiss6 Sports “Vertical Raise Game of the Week” in former PHS standout Treg Thomas’ second game in the color commentary role for his alma mater.
That’s because this season marks the 30th anniversary of a wild and exciting showdown between the Panthers and Indians in 1995 in which Thomas played a starring role in that Friday the 13th shootout
Thomas, then an All-State performer at PHS, enjoyed one of the best outings of his prep career on Oct., 13th, 1995 as he carried the ball 22 times for 275 yards and a game-high four touchdowns in helping guide the home-standing Panthers to a 49-41 win at War Memorial Stadium.

“I’m still out of breath,” Thomas said, Thursday afternoon, with a laugh in an exclusive interview with SouthMiss6 Sports. “Biloxi was always a game that we expected to win, but not without a fight. I remember we just refused to give up.”
Pascagoula, which came into that game at 2-4 overall and averaging less than 13 points per game so far that season, produced their best offensive output in almost 30 years that night and helped keep its slim state playoff hopes alive in the process.
“I just can’t explain it, I don’t know how we did it and I can’t wait to watch the game film.” then former PHS head coach, the late Bill Matthews, told this reporter that night. “There’s no way we could have expected this, but it just shows how much character our guys have. “Every time they scored, we had an answer. Treg showed us just how big of a heart he has, and he has a lot of that. When we had to have it, he came up big for us.”
Biloxi, thanks to over 300 yards passing and five touchdowns from sophomore quarterback Kendrell Smyers, led 38-28 early in the second half.

But Thomas took over the rest of the way. He followed up that 10-point deficit with a trio of scoring runs to help Pascagoula pull out the win. The two teams combined for almost 1,000 yards of total offense.
Panther sophomore defensive back Reggie Myles also made three huge plays in the secondary to help seal the win.

The “mighty mite” Thomas was a Dandy Dozen selection his senior season and he rushed for a career total of 3,520 yards and scored 29 touchdowns at PHS. He rushed for 100 yards or more in 15 games including one 300 yard and seven 200 yard games.

He went on to not only start at Delta State but the next year as a freshman he won the first-ever Conerly Trophy which is still awarded today to the best collegiate football player in the state of Mississippi. Thomas also finished fourth that year in voting for the Harlon Hill Trophy, which goes to the nation’s top Division II player. He rushed for over 1,600 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Statesmen that season. Thomas was selected all Conference in 1996 and 1997 and still holds numerous DSU rushing records.
Friday, Thomas could be in store from his seat in the press box to see two of the top running backs in South Mississippi Friday night, and that’s because the 101st battle between Pascagoula and Biloxi is billed as such.
Panther tailback Amarie Jackson had 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns against MPHS last week in a 47-0 win, while Biloxi junior running back Jo Jo Thomas ran for 182 yards and three touchdowns in an exciting 33-30 loss to Holmes County Central.