By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

With yet another prep football regular season winding down across South Mississippi, it’s time for next installment of “Friday Night Rewind” here at SouthMiss6 Sports.

“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 seven things we noticed in the “Southern 6” Friday night:

1. Still Champs — Gulfport left D’iberville in a time warp again on Halloween Eve. The Admirals overcame a slight halftime deficit to pull out an exciting 28-24 win over the visiting Warriors in a big Region 4-7A encounter Friday night. The decision gives defending Class 7A state champ GHS its second straight league title, while the Warriors will be the second seed. The Gulfport win kept DHS from earning its first region crown in six years, and the Admirals have now won five league titles compared to just that one for DHS in the past 10 seasons. It also marked the fifth straight win for Gulfport in this series. Gulfport controlled the second half with a powerful ground game, a key blocked field goal and two touchdown passes from Admiral quarterback Jackson Wolverton to swap a 17-14 first half deficit into the four point win.
2. Still Champs (Part 6) — The Picayune Maroon Tide exploded for two rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter to wash the Gautier Gators away 28-14 in a key Region 4-6A contest Friday night. With the victory, the Maroon Tide (6-3, 4-0) also claimed their sixth consecutive region title which is a first for the program. The top seed heading into the playoffs gives Picayune home field advantage in the first round against a to be determined opponent. The Gators are still alive in the playoff hunt but their future depends on what happens next week. Xavier Dennis had 19 carries for 90 yards and an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Jamari Hathorne contributed six carries for 121 yards and three touchdowns for the Maroon Tide.
3. Champs Again — Poplarville wanted to leave nothing to chance in the Class 4A playoffs. The Hornets made sure they would be the top dogs in Region 7-4A as they got past Columbia 45-28 Friday night in the regular-season finale in front of a packed house at The Hornet’s Nest. The victory clinched the region championship for undefeated Poplarville (9-0 overall, 4-0 region), and ensured the Hornets will be home for at least the first three rounds of the postseason, beginning next week against Northeast Lauderdale. As they have the past three seasons, the Hornets rode the running of senior Ty Keys, who ran 23 times for 268 yards and four touchdowns. It’s the first region title for PHS since 2023, even though the Hornets did win the Class 4A state championship in 2024.
4. Back Again — East Central is on its way back to the state football playoffs.And, Vancleave is not. The Hornets captured the latest version of the Pascagoula River Bowl with a solid 27-7 win over the visiting arch-rival Bulldogs Friday night. The win, the third straight in this annual affair for ECHS, moves head coach Sam Huff’s crew to 4-5 overall but more importantly 3-1 in the region race, and ECHS is back in the playoffs for the first time in four years. Four different players scored touchdowns for ECHS in the big win.
5. Home Field — Hancock quarterback Justin Wedgeworth scored from 2-yards out with 1:49 left in the game to give Hancock a 23-16 win over Pascagoula and the second seed in Region 4-6A in prep football Friday night. Due to their 42-41 win over Pearl River Central, regardless of how the Hawks do against Long Beach, Hancock (5-4, 3-1) will host a home game November 12th to start the 2026 Playoffs. For Pascagoula (3-6, 1-3), the simplest route to the playoffs is to beat neighboring rival Gautier (5-4, 1-3) in the season-ending rivalry game next week. The story of Friday night’s game was Pascagoula’s inability to get off the field has Hancock grinded out 26 first downs despite only three runs and five pass plays for over 10 yards.
6. Not Again — The Biloxi Indians (3-6, 2-3 region) scored two late second quarter touchdowns to take a two-score lead over West Harrison (4-6, 2-3 region) going into halftime, and that lead proved insurmountable as Biloxi would go on to win 38-22 on Friday night. The win keeps the state playoff hopes alive for the Indians, and also ensures that the Hurricanes will not make the playoffs for the first time in school history. Biloxi place-kicker Cayden Einhaus had a 41-yard field goal and he was also successful on five of five extra points, while Indian linebacker Jashun Bass registered 18 total tackles with a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery in the key win.
7. Back Again — There were plenty of treats and no tricks for Pearl River Central Friday night. The visiting Blue Devils dismantled Long Beach 49-10 in Region 4-6A action to clinch a berth in the Class 6A South State playoffs. PRC junior standout signal-caller Titus Feaster accounted for six touchdowns in leading his team to the win, as the Blue Devils move to 6-3 overall and 2-2 in the region race. Feaster ran for four scores and threw for two more, with both of the scoring strikes going to running back Caden Hinton. Brayden Fowler added a scoring run to the winning cause as well. Running back Brayden Fowler ran for 115 yards and a touchdown as well. The Blue Devils are back in the playoffs for the second straight season after a 10-year absence.