By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

(Editor’s Note: This is the first of a five part series featuring the upcoming schedules facing the five new prep football head coaches in the “Southern Six” coming into a new season.

First up; Pascagoula first-year head coach Zach Green)

PASCAGOULA — In January, Zach Green become the first new head football coach at Pascagoula High School in 16 years.

Green, previously the defensive coordinator at Gulfport High, replaced veteran Panther head coach Lewis Sims after Sims led PHS for the past 15 seasons.

Green was a driving force on an Admiral coaching staff last season that captured the Class 7A state championship for the first time in program history.

His defense helped guide Gulfport to three straight wins in the Class 7A South State playoffs in which the Admirals allowed just 24 points total in those three games combined, before GHS beat defending state champion Tupelo 21-20 on the last play in the state title tilt.

Green just finished his third season as defensive coordinator at GHS under third-year Admiral head coach Blake Pennock. He came with Pennock from Ocean Springs, where he served in the same capacity during Pennock’s three seasons at the helm of the Greyhounds and OSHS registered a solid 32-5 mark and won two region titles.

Green came to OSHS and accepted his first role as defensive coordinator after serving as the linebackers coach at Theodore (Ala.) High. He has never been a head coach on the high school level in the state before. He also served on the defensive staff at Biloxi before going to Theodore.

Now, he and his Panthers face an all “Southern Six” schedule in 2026 as he makes his debut at PHS.

“When you look at our non-region schedule, you’re talking about all four playoff teams from Region 4-7A a year ago and the defending 7A State Champion,” Green said. “That’s a tremendous challenge for any football team, especially one that’s replacing a lot of production. We return six starters on offense and only three on defense, so there are a lot of young players who are going to be asked to grow up quickly. The positive is that they’ll have an opportunity to gain valuable experience against some of the best competition in the state.”

For the fourth straight season, PHS won’t have to travel outside of the “Southern Six” footprint to play a regular season game. Pascagoula’s schedule features nothing but other foes from the “Southern Six”, including five Region 4-6A foes as well as a pair of non region opponents from Jackson County in Moss Point and Ocean Springs and three from Harrison County in Biloxi, D’Iberville and Gulfport.

Those last four teams all are members of Region 4-7A.

The longest bus trip for the Panthers this season will be the some 75-mile trek to Carriere in region action to face Pearl River Central in October as well as a road trip to perennial state power Picayune also in the same month to open league play.