By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

To those fortunate enough to still be involved with prep football as he head into Thanksgiving Week, congratulations…

“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

Here are 7 things we noticed in the :”Southern Six” Friday night:

1. Done Deal — The drought is over. Gulfport is headed back to the South State championship round in the prep football playoffs for the first time in 26 years after pounding Petal 45-10 Friday night here at historic Milner Stadium. The win, coming in the Class 7A South State semifinals, extended the Admirals’ win streak to nine straight games and sets up their third consecutive home playoff game in the same season for the first time in 37 years, since the 1988 state playoffs. The deadly and dynamic offensive Admiral duo of quarterback Parker Nettles and running back Cooper Crosby were simply too much for the visitors to handle. Nettles, in one of his best efforts in his lone season at Gulfport after transferring from Silliman Institute, completed 10 of 15 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns and he added a rushing score. Meanwhile, Crosby was his normal dominate self as he bowled his way to 147 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns on the ground as well.
2. Farewell, Adieu — For the second consecutive season, Pascagoula’s playoff hopes ended on the field at D.I. Patrick Stadium on the campus at Hattiesburg High, and with it came the end of an era for Panther football. The Tigers overcame a slow start offensively, and ‘Goula made too many unforced errors when there were chances to score in the first half in a 35-20 defeat in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs. HHS improved to 10-2 overall and booked a date with Picayune next week for South State right back on their home grounds. Pascagoula finished its final season under veteran head coach Lewis Sims 6-6 overall, snapping a five-game winning streak.
3. Two Times — Picayune thumped visiting Hancock for the second time in five weeks, this time 52-20 in the Class 6A second round matchup. The Maroon Tide (10-2) advanced to the Class 6A South State championship on the road against Hattiesburg the day after Thanksgiving. The Maroon Tide was led by junior standout running back Xavier Dennis, who rushed 16 times for 344 yards and five touchdowns. It was the final game of Hancock senior standout signal-caller Kaison Koennen, who rushed 17 times for 140 yards and a touchdown and threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns on 21-for-32 passing. Aspen Favre caught 6 passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns. Picayune is playing in its fifth straight South State championship game and 10th in the past 15 seasons.
4. Back Again — For the ninth time in the past 10 seasons, Poplarville is headed to the Class 4A South State championship game. Hornet junior running back Ty Keys ran for 436 yards and seven touchdowns Friday night as defending Class 4A state champion Poplarville smacked Region 7-4A rival McComb 55-20 on the road in the Class 4A South State semifinal round. The win keeps the Hornets’ hopes alive for back-to-back state titles, and PHS will now face yet another region foe in the Class 4A South State title tilt as it heads to unbeaten Columbia next week with a trip to the state finals on the line.
5. Sweetness — And speaking of unbeaten Columbia, Pass Christian saw its most successful regular season ever come to an end with a sudden thud on the road at Walter Payton Field as the Wildcats moved to 13-0 with a 41-6 win. Columbia pulled away from the Pirates on a three-touchdown run in the first five minutes of the third quarter en route to the big win. “This was another level of football,” said Pass coach Jeff Stockstill. “I thought we had a great year. Our seniors played their butts off. I’m really proud of what our team accomplished. I’m really happy for our school and community. But this was another level of football.”
6. Game-Winner — Laurel’s Kenneth Jeronimo nailed a 23-yard field goal as the final horn expired to push the Golden Tornadoes past home-standing Stone 24-21 Friday night in the Class 5A South State semifinals. The decision, in the Class 5A South State semifinals at A.L. May Stadium in Perkinston on the campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, moves Laurel to just 6-6 on the season overall but more importantly into the Class 5A South State finals for the second time second time in three seasons. The golden Tornadoes have won six straight games since starting the season off at 0-6. The Tomcats end the season at 8-4.
7. Deja Vue — There were basically four “re-matches” involving “Southern Six” squads last week in six games, and three survived and are headed to the South State championship round this week and all three are just one win away from playing for state titles in Starkville.