By Curtis Rockwell/Sports Director
MOSS POINT — Moss Point won just two games in new head coach Derrick Jenkins first season at the helm of the Tigers.
But, as crazy as it sounds, that was an improvement for the once mighty Tigers.
Now, entering his second season in the top spot on Danitzler Street, Jenkins and his crew seem set on taking even more steps back towards prominence this year.
The Tigers went 2-8 overall, but perhaps more importantly, 1-3 in Region 8-4A play to qualify for a Class 4A South State playoff berth. That came on the heels of a win-less 0-9 mark in 2024, spurring the arrival of “Jenk Dawg”.

“The biggest growth I can see coming in to year two is the confidence level of the players,” Jenkins said, in a recent interview. “They’re working real hard, and they want to prove everybody wrong that’s saying they can’t get it done. They have what it takes to do so.”
The Tigers will get multi-sport standout Aiden Evans, who shared some time at quarterback last year, back behind center this season to call the signals.
Evans is replacing his running partner at QB1 last year in Keelan Harper, who threw for almost 1,000 yards but transferred back to Pascagoula for this season.

Evans will look to Terrence Coleman out wide for some big plays, as Coleman is the leading returning receiver for MPHS. Jordan McInnis was also mentioned by Jenkins as a possible “breakout” player this season.
Defensively, the Tigers have “a lot of returning experience” according to Jenkins having lost just two starters from last season.
Linebacker Landon Cato returns after leading the Tigers by far in total tackles last season with 101 stops, including a team-high 16 tackles for loss.

Jamarion Turner joins Cato at the second level to form one of the top linebacking units in Region 8-4A this year.
The versatile Jaxon Dubose, who like Evans sees a lot of playing time for the MPHS baseball program as well, is back to patrol the secondary after making three sacks last season to go along with Cato’s four.

“We want respect,” Jenkins concluded. “We’ve been concentrating on our toughness coming into this season. We’re gonna come out and play tough and hit you in the mouth. At the end of the day, you’re gonna respect us.”
The Tigers open the season on the road at War Memorial Stadium in Pascagoula in the annual “Battle of the Cats” against their longtime arch-rival Panthers.