By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

OCEAN SPRINGS — The Class 6A South State Semifinal match-up pitting Pascagoula against home-standing Hattiesburg Friday night 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.

This match-up marks the third straight season that the Panthers travel to D.I. Patrick Stadium in the Hub City to battle the Tigers in the Class 6A South State playoffs. Plus, it marks the second consecutive season the match-up takes place in the Class 6A South State semifinals.

“Hattiesburg is very similar to us both offensively and defensively,” veteran PHS head coach Lewis Sims said, before practice Wednesday. “They have a really good team, and both teams have been here before. It’s Deja Vu all over again.”

Two years ago, Pascagoula pulled out a close one point win over home-standing Hattiesburg 7-6 in the opening round. Last year, the Tigers got some revenge, turning back the Panthers 33-17 en route to the state title game. Hattiesburg comes into the week at 9-2, while Pascagoula is a solid 6-5 but on a five game win streak.

“This is the rubber match,” Sims concluded. “This is what it’s all about this time of year. We have our work cut out for us.”

Pascagoula is coming off a 41-7 win over Terry last week at the same time Hattiesburg was pounding PRC 42-0.

The winner of this one will face the winner of the Picayune-Hancock contest next week in the South State finals. This marks the 56th all-time meeting in a series that’s just about as even as it can get with Hattiesburg up 28-26-1.

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.