By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

Holy crap, that went fast…

We just finished week 11 of the current prep football season, and now all regular season play is over, and it’s time for our 11th installment of “Friday Night Rewind” here at SouthMiss6 Sports.

“Friday Night Rewind” 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 we’ll take a look back at the action that took place all across this region the previous week before we move on to the next week.

With some help from Pascagoula’s own Jimmy Buffett and fellow Mississippian Mac McAnally, here are 7 things we noticed in the “Southern 6” last week:

1. He went to Paris — The Region 8-4 A champion Pass Christian Pirates throttled South Pike Eagles 52-32 in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs Friday night at McDonald Stadium. Pirate junior quarterback Paris Trivillion accounted for five total touchdowns as the Pirates moves into the second round of the state playoffs for just the third time in 40 years.
2. It’s My Job — On Friday afternoon, Poplarville junior standout running back Ty Keys was named “Class 4A Mr. Football” in the state. A few hours later, Keys continued to make the amazing look routine. He was in rare form in the opening round of the Class 4A football playoffs, running all over Forrest County AHS in a 49-20 victory in front of a loud crowd at Henley Field. The Hornets (6-4 overall) continue their state championship defense in the second round, after Keys ran 22 times for 281 yards and four touchdowns.
3. Take it Back — The drought is over. Pearl River Central had lost eight straight games to arch-rival Picayune coming into Thursday night. But the Blue Devils jumped out to a quick 21-0 lead and held on for a 28-21 win over The Maroon Tide here at Lee-Triplett Stadium in the regular season finale for both teams. The win was the first for PRC over Picayune in a decade, since the 2015 season. The win by PRC snapped Picayune’s school record 28 straight game region win streak as the Blue Devils move to 7-3 overall and Picayune is 8-2. PRC quarterback Titus Feaster accounted for all four Blue Devil touchdowns, running for two and throwing for two more. He also ended the night with just over 350 yards of total offense, including 183 yards passing.
4. The Pascagoula Run — Although there were plenty of ups and down and thumps, bumps and some bruises along the way, Pascagoula is on a roll entering the Class 6A South State playoffs after the fourth straight impressive win by the Panthers Friday night Pascagoula destroyed visiting Gautier 49-12 in the annual “Singing River Classic” at War Memorial Stadium in the regular season finale for both teams. The Panthers are now 5-5 and Pascagoula finishes in the second spot in the Region 4-6A race and will host an opening round game in the Class 7A South State playoffs next week. The Gators, meanwhile, dropped their fourth straight game and end up 3-6 overall and 1-4 in league play. Gautier, the defending Class 5A South State champion, struggled in Class 6A this season and will miss the postseason. Panther linebacker-turned-quarterback Jarrad Loper Jr. threw a trio of 70-yards or more touchdown passes and PHS senior standout tailback Amarie Jackson ran for three more scores in that decisive first half.
5. First Look — Stone is the only Class 5A team from the “Southern Six’ headed to the state playoffs this season. The Tomcats dispatched visiting East Central 35-21 in the Region 4-5A regular season finale Thursday night at A.L. May Stadium in Perkinston on the campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. The Tomcats had already secured the top seed in the region race, and finished up their league dance card at a perfect 5-0 and at 7-3 overall. Stone running back Amarion Fairley ran for 118 yards and two touchdowns to lead the winning attack over the Hornets.
6. Last Line — Meanwhile, the loss eliminated Eastt Central from postseason contention, as the Hornets end the year at 2-8 overall and 1-4 in the region race. East Central will have company as the off season begins in arch-rival Vancleave, as after losing at home to the Hornets last week the Bulldogs needed a win on the road at Purvis Thursday night to keep its playoff hopes alive. But not only did the Bulldogs not get that much-needed win they didn’t even score a point against the Tornadoes. Purvis shutout Vancleave 3-0 in the Region 4-5A regular season finale for both teams. the win pushes PHS above .500 at 5-4 overall, and gives the Tornadoes the third seed in the region race behind Stone and Wayne County. Northeast Jones sealed the fourth and final spot Thursday night with a 14-7 win at home over the War Eagles.
7. Come Monday — Ocean Springs will be gearing up to open the state playoffs for the eighth straight year while neighboring rival St. Martin will be packing up equipment to start the week also for the eighth consecutive year. That’s because the Greyhounds thumped the Yellow Jackets 49-21 Thursday night at Joe Barlow Stadium. The win moves OSHS to an impressive 9-1, and despite finishing with its first winning season at 6-4 since 2019 SMHS still hasn’t qualified for the state playoffs again since 2018.