By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

With the current prep football season turning six weeks old this week across South Mississippi, it’s time for our sixth installment of “A Look Ahead” here at SouthMiss6 Sports.

“A Look Ahead” 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 on Monday, we’ll take a look at the action set to kick off in that particular week all across this region.

Half of the 24 football teams in the “Southern 6” are off this week.. But there are still some big games on tap this week, and still quite a few interesting battles ahead.

Here are “7 games in the Southern 6” to keep an eye on this week:

1. Gulfport at Ocean Springs (Game of the Week) — In a scheduling quirk, the Greyhounds host the Admirals for the second straight season in Region 4-7A play. Ocean Springs comes in on a school record 25 game region win streak, that started at the end of the 2020 season under then and now current GHS head coach Blake Pennock. The Greyhounds are now 11-0 in league play under head coach Jake Bramlett, after a 31-6 win over Biloxi last week, after Bramlett took over for Pennock. This is the region 4-7A opener for Gulfport. Ocean Springs, which has won four straight league titles, is also on a five game winning streak over the Admirals. Gulfport leads the all-time series 21-12, but OSHS is up slightly 6-5 over the past 11 games since 2014. The last region title for the Admirals came in 2019. It marks the second longest stretch between league titles after an eight year span from 2004-2012 for GHS since the implementation of a state-wide playoff system in 1981.
2. D’Iberville at West Harrison — Another big battle to stay atop the Region 4-7A standings as the Hurricanes host the Warriors this week. This one, though, features two teams that are already 1-0 in the league standings after WHHS slipped past St. Martin 26-21 and DHS destroyed Harrison Central 42-6. This is the ninth all-time meeting between the two Harrison County foes, and the Warriors are a perfect 8-0 including a 46-0 win in 2020 which was the last time the two teams met.
3. Hancock at Bay High — A big game for these two Hancock County rivals for a different reason, as both come in a combined 0-8 on the season and are each looking for their first wins under new head coaches. The Tigers, under the direction of Katlan French, are 0-4 and coming off of a 28-7 road loss in Hattiesburg to Presbyterian Christian last week, while the Hawks were licking their wounds on an open date after losing four straight times to open the season under the guidance of Mikey King. This is the first meeting between these two teams in nine years, since a 49-0 Hancock win in 2016. This marks the 55th meeting all-time between the two teams on the football field, and Bay leads the all-time series that dates back to 1959 34-20. But the Hawks have won four in a row dating back to 2013.
4. St. Martin at Biloxi — Back to the Region 4-7A race, two teams coming off of losses to open league play as the Indians host the Yellow Jackets. This is the 26th meeting on the gridiron in a series that celebrates its 30th anniversary this season and dates back to 1995. Biloxi leads the all-time affair at 15-10, and the Indians have also won six straight including a 34-14 win last year. With four teams without a loss ahead of both BHS and SMHS in the region race currently, an 0-2 start for either will be tough to overcome.
5. Stone at St. Stanislaus — A pair of teams off to a couple of rough starts to the season square off at Brother Phillip Memorial Stadium Friday night. The Rocks are 1-4, and the Tomcats 1-3 and both are coming off of losses last week as well. This marks just the seventh all-time meeting in a series that dates back 53 years and started in 1972. Stone leads the series 4-2, after a 32-0 win last year.
6. Pass Christian at Greene County — Region 8-4A play gets underway for both the Pirates and Wildcats in Leakesville this week at Johnny Ainsworth Stadium. Pass Christian is 4-2 after an exciting 35-33 win over visiting East Central last week, while GCHS is 4-1 and also coming off of a close 24-21 home win over Gautier last week. This is just the 13th all-time meeting, as the Wildcats hold a commanding 10-2 lead all-time in the series after a 33-25 win last year. the teams have split the past four meetings since 2021 when the series was resumed after an 11 year hiatus. Greene County won the first eight meetings from 1997-2010.
7. Moss Point at Forrest County AHS — The other Region 8-4A opener this week pits the Tigers heading to Brooklyn to face the Aggies in another contest pitting a pair of new head coaches against one another. Moss Point is 1-4 under Derrick Jenkins, after an embarrassing 63-18 loss to visiting Vancleave last week. Forrest County, now led by Bo Russum after former head coach Larry Dolan left for Greene County over the Summer, started quickly at 3-0 but has stumbled a bit since and sits 3-2 after two straight losses. This is just the fourth meeting all-time between the two teams on the football field, and MPHS is a perfect 3-0 including a 48-6 thumping of the Aggies in the opening round of the 2022 Class 4A South State playoffs. This marks the first regular season meeting in 17 years, since 2008.