SOUTH MISS 6 SPORTS

Prep Football: Maroon Tide hosts Panthers as Region 4-6A play kicks off

Close-up of a football coach wearing a headset and a team jacket, with a serious expression during a game.
Picayune head coach Cody Stogner has his Maroon Tide in search of a program record sixth straight region title. (Photo by Bobby McDuffie)

By Curtis Rockwell/Sports Director

PICAYUNE — Over the past seven seasons, Picayune has won six region championships, including five in a row.

The only other league foe of the Maroon Tide during that span, which dates back to the 2019 season, to take a region title besides Picayune is Pascagoula, which won the Region 4-5A title in the Covid season of 2020 after finishing tied at 5-2 in league play with both Picayune and Hattiesburg.

That came in Maroon Tide head coach Cody Stogner’s first season at the helm of his alma mater. Now, with five straight region titles under his belt, Stogner and his Maroon Tide team host Pascagoula as both teams open Region 4-6A play Thursday night.

A group of high school football players in maroon and gold jerseys are engaged in a tackle during a game, with several players from the maroon team grappling an opponent wearing a white and green uniform.
Picayune’s defense hopes to have a team effort when Pascagoula comes to town Friday night. (Photo by Bobby McDuffie)
A quarterback in a white football jersey, with red and blue accents, attempts to throw a football while being pressured by a defender in orange and blue. The scene is set on a football field with spectators in the background.
Pascagoula quarterback Jason Glaude looks to pass his Panthers past the Maroon Tide this week.. (Photo by Steve Coleman)

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., at Lee-Triplett Stadium.

These two teams are struggling a bit so far this season, but despite the combined 4-6 overall mark for both of these 2-3 squads the winner of this game will take a big step towards securing home field advantage in the opening round of the upcoming Class 6A South State playoffs as well as possibly the top seed in the loop.

The winner of this game has won the region title the past seven years and the loser has finished as the second seed three times in that span as well. Picayune has won eight out of the past nine meetings in this series and nine out of 11 over the past decade.

A football player in maroon and gray gear, wearing the number 22, is evading a tackle from an opponent in a gold and green helmet during a game.
Picayune running back Jamari Hathorne and his Maroon Tide are search of a program record sixth straight region title. (Photo by Bobby McDuffie)
A youth football team in red and white uniforms prepares for a play on the field, with players positioning themselves around a player holding the football.
Pascagoula wide out Keelan Harper hopes to find some smooth sailing in the Maroon Tide this week.. (Photo by Steve Coleman)

The Panthers started off at 2-0 under new head coach Zach Green, but come into this week on a four game losing streak.

Picayune is 2-3 for the first time since 2015, and for just the third time in 21 years. The prior two times that the Maroon started off a season at 2-3, they did not win the region title in 2015 or 2005.

In fact, in the 45 years since a state-wide playoff system was implemented in Mississippi prep football circles, Picayune has never started off a season at 2-3 overall on the field and won a region title. That also includes the same 2-3 start in both 1995 and 1990.

Both teams were off last week. Pascagoula has been the second seed in Region 4-6A the past two years.

The Panthers have won only two region titles in the past two decades.

A close-up of a man wearing a white visor and sunglasses, looking serious, with a woman smiling in the background.
New Pascagoula head coach Zach Green leads his Panthers into Lee-Triplett Stadium Thursday night. (Photo by Steve Coleman)
A high school football player in maroon uniform celebrates after a successful play, while another teammate kneels to hold the football for a kick.
Picayune place-kicker Edgar Cruz has been an effective weapon for the Maroon Tide special teams the last several seasons. (Photo by Bobby McDuffie)
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