By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director
The Region 4-7A title in all likelihood will be decided at some point Friday night when D’Iberville hosts Gulfport in a battle for the top spot in the league standings.
And that’s why this big showdown is this week’s “Vertical Raise Game of the Week” for SouthMiss6 Sports.

Each week during the prep football season, SouthMiss6 Sports will feature a “GOTW” sponsored by Vertical Raise, the premier online fundraising platform for athletic teams and associated clubs and supporters of all ages.

Gulfport is taking aim on its first league crown in six years, and comes in sitting atop the region race with a perfect 4-0 mark, while D’Iberville sits in a tie with Ocean Springs in the second slot each at 3-1.
Even though this all-time series dates back 37 years to 1988, this is just the 17th meeting on the football field between the two teams. Gulfport has a commanding 11-6 lead, and the Admirals have won three straight and six out of the last eight games over DHS.
Despite a 42-21 loss to Ocean Springs a few weeks back, D’Iberville is looking for its first region title in five years. Gulfport beat the Greyhounds 41-28 a month ago.
Excluding the DHS-GHS game this week, in all likelihood these three teams that have all already clinched state playoff berths finish out the regular season against the trio of teams in Region 4-7A that will miss the postseason.
Gulfport finishes out the regular season at home against hap-less Harrison Central on Thursday, Nov. 6th, while OSHS hosts HCHS this week and faces St. Martin to end the regular season. D’Iberville ends the season at home against Biloxi.

Assuming that all three of the teams atop the league standings take care of business, then things become interesting if D’Iberville can snap a three game losing streak to Gulfport this week in a convincing manner.
Gulfport secures the top seed in the region with a win or even a loss as long as its by no more than 11 points. A DHS win by 12 points or more throws all three teams into a tangled up mess atop the region race that would come down to the fifth step in the tie-breaking formula.

The Warriors were off last week, while the Admirals Gulfport maintained the lead atop the Region 4-7A standings with a comfortable 35-0 win over arch-rival Biloxi at historic Milner Stadium. Admirals senior running back Cooper Crosby had a huge night for the Admirals, rushing for 134 yards and two touchdowns and also scoring on a 15-yard reception to open the game’s scoring. His first running score was for 77-yards through the line of scrimmage then down the visitors’ sideline as the first quarter came to an end to give the Admirals a 14-0 lead and the home team never looked back. Gulfport quarterback Parker Nettles also had a big night, completing 15 of 19 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns.

As the premier online undraising platform, Vertical Raise utilizes the newest technology through a tested combination of email, text and social media campaigns to maximize the reach of your fundraiser.

Our successes are built upon our best-in-class email deliverability, detailed tracking and the complete personalization of every participant’s page. Combining this proprietary system, with experienced and passionate fundraising coaches has made us the most effective fundraising platform available.

We look forward to partnering with you to elevate your organization to its full potential! Please contact your local fundraising rep Ricky Cunningham at 228-263-4755 for more information.