5 biggest stories from Week 11 on the MS Coast highlighted by fourth-quarter heroics

Week 11 brought an exciting finish to the regular season for the upper classifications and the first round of playoff football to the lower classes.

The last postseason tickets were sorted and handed out, rivals thwarted one another and a local powerhouse survived an upset bid in thrilling fashion.

The full results and final standings can be found at SunHerald.com.

Here are the biggest stories from week 11.

Poplarville survives

The Coast sent four lower classification teams to the postseason and just one survived by the skin of its teeth. Poplarville came out on top of a wild first-round 4A playoff match, 27-26, over Mendenhall.

The Hornets faced deficits of 20-13 and 26-20 in the fourth quarter and had to score two touchdowns in the final two minutes to stave off the Tigers.

Sydney Blackmon hit Zack Case 29 yards over the middle for the go-ahead score with 1:13 on the game clock, giving Poplarville its 11th straight first round playoff win.

First to 2K

West Harrison won’t be playing any extra football, but that didn’t stop Jordan Stapleton from putting on one final show.

Stapleton carved 301 rushing yards through Long Beach and trotted himself into the end zone five times during a 61-7 win. The performance put the junior at 2,003 rushing yards for the season, making him the first player in the state to cross the 2,000-yard mark.

The final book on Stapleton saw him average 200.3 rushing yards per contest, record nine 100-yard outings in 10 games and run for at least 200 yards in all five district games. Despite missing the postseason, Stapleton helped lead the Hurricanes offense to their best season in school history with 39.7 points scored per game.

Region 4-5A sorted

Gautier had the region title locked, but the remaining three playoff spots were still in limbo with every team in play heading into the final week.

The most important result was Stone’s 24-6 win over East Central, which eliminated a Hornets team that had sent the district into its hectic state a week ago by upsetting Vancleave. Wayne County’s 56-34 trouncing over the Bulldogs awared the Tomcats’ the No. 2 seed and the Gators’ 42-6 win over Laurel sealed the top four.

Gautier will host Natchez next week while Stone brings Florence in for the Tomcats’ third home playoff game in five years. Wayne County visits South Jones as a three-seed while Vancleave rounds out the district by facing Region 3-5A champs Brookhaven.

Panthers exact revenge

Pascagoula turned a highly-anticipated rematch into an uneven boat-race when it eviscerated George County 49-13 on the Rebels’ senior night.

Still feeling the effects of last season’s blown lead and eventual loss, the Panthers dominated in all three phases and had full control from start to finish. Amarie Jackson scored three touchdowns, Silas Corder added two fourth down touchdown passes and the Panther defense forced five star quarterback Deuce Knight into four turnovers and two interceptions.

The win earned Pascagoula the No. 2 seed out of Region 4-6A and a home-field playoff game for the first time since 2020. The Panthers will host Terry on Friday while George County will pay a visit to defending 6A state champs West Jones.

Rivalry stunner in 7A

No lead is safe, no matter how big or how late. D’Iberville found that out shortly after building a two-score advantage in the final two minutes of its rivalry meet with Biloxi.

The Indians turned a 23-10 deficit with less than two minutes remaining into a stunning 24-23 win over their arch rival and claimed the No. 3 seed out of Region 4-7A in the process.

Wyatt Pyron connected with Tristan Haynes for a 20-yard touchdown with 1:31 to play and Biloxi successfully recovered the ensuing onside kick. Three plays later, Pyron found Haynes in the end zone once more from 15 yards out.

The extra point gave Biloxi the lead and D’Iberville’s 42-yard field goal came up short in the closing seconds. Biloxi will face the reigning 7A state champs Oak Grove on the road next Friday while D’Iberville will visit Region 3-7A champion Brandon.