By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

When the Pascagoula High football team takes the field Friday night in the friendly confines of War Memorial Stadium, the Panthers will be looking for their third overall win of the season as well as the second in Region 4-6A play.
However, as important as notching another mark in the win column in both of those categories for the current campaign, a victory over visiting Pearl River Central will be of even more historical significance for the PHS program as well.

The next win for Pascagoula will be, according to most reports, the 600th all-time on the gridiron for the Panthers. PHS is currently 599-474-28 in 105 years of playing football. The win total is second highest in the “Southern Six”, only behind Gulfport which is 635-414-33 in the 117-year history of that school.
Veteran PHS head coach Lewis Sims is in his 15h season at the helm of the Panthers, and is the all-time winningest mentor in program history as well.
In fact, in hs first 10 years leading the Panthers, from 2010-2019, Sims registered an 69-53 record which is best mark for a single decade of play in school history, besting the 66-44 stretch from 1980-1989.

In 1987, Pascagoula, led by prep All-American quarterback Shane Matthews, who is widely regarded as the best Panther quarterback in school history, went 14-0 and won the only state championship in program history since a state-wide playoff system was implemented in 1981.

In the 1970’s PHS went 60-38-2 and went 12-0 in 1976 to capture the Big Eight championship.

Meanwhile, the Pascagoula-PRC showdown isn’t only only important Region 4-6A encounter set to be contested in Jackson County Friday night as Gautier hosts Hancock.

All four teams, the Panthers, Blue Devils, Gators and Hawks, all are sitting at 1-1 in the region race coming into this week.

While Pascagoula is shooting for its 600th all-time win, a few miles down west down Highway 90 at Vaughan-Wallace Stadium this is just the fifth ever meeting on the football field between the Hawks and Gators, with the last coming five years ago, and the all-time series is dead even at 2-2.

With perennial state power Picayune already off to a quick 2-0 start and on a 26-game region win streak after capturing the last four league titles, a win by the quartet of teams competing in Jackson County Friday night is almost imperative to keep hopes of possibly hosting a first round game in the upcoming Class 6A South State playoffs.