By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

It seems almost impossible but region plays starts for the largest classification in the “Southern Six” this week and its the last week in September.

Just week five of the season.

Rock’s Locks is back in South Mississippi for yet another prep football season. Rock’s Locks was a steady feature in several daily newspapers (remember those?) across South Mississippi for much of the past three decades and has been a part of the journalistic fabric of prep football across the “Southern Six” for most of that time frame as well. Each week we will attempt to provide some insight with some prep pigskin prognosticator picks and provide you readers with much material to ridicule me with I am sure.

There are a season-high total of nine all “Southern Six” match-ups this week, a total that will go down a bit next week before reaching a crescendo in two weeks.

In the words of the Van Morrison, “And the caravan is on it’s way…”

1. West Harrison at St. Martin (Game of the Week) — Just the fifth all-time meeting between the Yellow Jackets and Hurricanes takes place this week between these new league foes as Region 4-7A play begins. St. Martin has won three of the four prior meetings, including hammering West Harrison 63-14 in the last meeting five years ago. Both teams enter the game at 4-0, so something has to give here. We like the visitors in a high-scoring affair…West Harrison 37, St. Martin 35.
2. Picayune at Poplarville — The battle for supremacy in Pearl River County is set for Friday night as the Maroon Tide heads north up I-59 to face the home-standing Hornets. Poplarville is coming off a a big 49-14 win over yet another county rival Pearl River Central on the road in Carriere last week, and can claim county-wide honors with another win Friday night.. This is the 19th meeting between PMHS and PHS on the football field, and perennial state power Picayune holds a commanding 15-3 advantage in the all-time series. This is the first meeting since 2022, a 21-7 Maroon Tide win. Picayune has won five straight in this series, as well as 11 out of the past 12 meetings. Both teams come into this one at 3-1. In a close call, we’ll go with the home team…Poplarville 31, Picayune 30.
3. Biloxi at Ocean Springs — The Greyhounds are in search of their 25th consecutive region win as they welcome in their neighboring rival Indian to open Region 4-7A play this season. This marks the 53rd all-time meeting between these two old rivals on the football field, and the all-time series is just about as close as any in the “Southern Six”. A 34-14 win by OSHS last season pushed the Greyhounds up by two, at 27-25, in the all-time affair. In fact, Ocean Springs has now won eight straight game in the series, and needs one more win to set a record of nine straight victories in the all-time series. In addition to the current streak, the Greyhounds also won eight straight over Biloxi from 2003-2010. Ocean Springs comes in at 4-0 for its Homecoming contest, while Biloxi is off to a 1-3 start. This one might be over by halftime..Ocean Springs 48, Biloxi 24.
4. Gulfport at Pascagoula — The 100th all-time meeting between the Panthers and the Admirals on the gridiron takes place Friday at War Memorial Stadium. This marks the renewal of this longtime rivalry after a two year break, and Gulfport thumped Pascagoula 48-24 in 2022. The Admirals have also won four straight in the series, and six out of the past seven. This game marks the final non-region game of the season for both teams as well. Gulfport leads the all-time series handily at 59-37-3, and this marks the second four game win streak all-time for GHS in the series, which also owns a five game win streak as well as a record six game win streak in the past over PHS. Neither team has lived up to its potential so far this season. The Panthers are still reeling from some key injuries, and that makes this one a real toss up...Pascagoula 14, Gulfport 13 (OT)
5. Vancleave at Moss Point — Two teams off to a pair of pretty rough starts so far face off at Dantzler Stadium friday in this renewal of an all Jackson County rivalry. The two teams haven’t met since 2022, in a 35-26 Vancleave win. This all-time series dates back just 18 years, to 2007, and is one in all truthfulness most oldtime followers of prep football along the Mississippi Gulf Coast could never even imagine would have ever happened to begin with. Moss Point holds a slight 8-6 advantage in the series, and the teams have split the past four games after the Tigers won three straight from 2016-2018.  Both teams come into this contest at 1-3, but this won’t be close…Vancleave 42, Moss Point 15.
6. Stone at George County — When the Rebels host the Tomcats in Friday night in Gill-Martin Stadium, it’ll mark the first meeting between the old Gulf Coast Conference rivals since a 28-20 win by Stone in 2014, 11 years ago. Ironically enough, George County is Stone’s longest-running series of all-time, as the two teams have faced off 68 times in a series that dates back to 1925. In fact, the two teams met annually on the football field for over four decades, from 1963-2004 when the series halted. Stone was off last week, while GCHS was picking up its first win of the year. Stone 34, George County 13.
7. D’Iberville at Harrison Central — A pair of teams headed in the complete opposite direction meet at Earl Phillips Stadium in Lyman Friday night in the Region 4-7A opener for both teams. The Warriors are off to their first 4-0 start in four years, while the Red Rebels are off to a paltry 1-3 beginning including a pair of losses to a Class 2A and a Class 3A opponent in the past two weeks. This marks the 68th all-time meeting on the football field between these two Harrison County rivals, as DHS has a 38-28-1 lead in the all-time series. These two teams have met annually, without fail, for the past 68 years since the beginning of the long-running affair back in 1958. The Warriors have won six out of the past seven games, including a 31-0 shutout on the road last year. D’Ibervile is looking for its first 5-0 start in five years. We see more of the same this week…D’Iberville 44, Harrison Central 6.

A Six Pack to Go:

Pass Christian 49, East Central 27

Resurrection 35, St. Patrick 21

PCS 55, Bay High 7

Gautier 28, Greene County 21

Sumrall 27, PRC 26

Mobile Christian 45, St. Stanislaus 0