New champs, old champs and a huge surprise. Here are MS Coast’s biggest stories of Week 10

Region championships were decided in a massive week 10 that saw the biggest games of the year play out across the Mississippi Coast.

Four regions were clinched and multiple titles were defended during the week. Full results and standings can be found at SunHerald.com.

Here are the biggest stories from week 10 on the Coast.

Gators get over the hump

There are players on the Gautier roster that weren’t yet born the last time it won a district title. What year was that? 1999? 2003? Nope, 2008.

The Gators were denied a region 4-5A championship on the final week in each of the last two seasons, but wrapped up the district with a week to spare this time after speeding by Stone, 35-6.

Trey Irving was responsible for three touchdowns with two coming on the ground. The back-breaker came from special teams, though, when Brayden Jackson blocked a punt and Elijah Pogue returned it for six to give the Gators a 21-0 lead in the second quarter.

Picayune defends throne

Many have tried, many have failed. The five star quarterback-led George County Rebels were the latest challengers and the latest to come up short. Picayune took down George County on Senior Night, 27-20, to clinch its fourth consecutive region title and second out of Region 4-6A.

Triston Cooper and Darrell Smith scored two touchdowns apiece and the Tide defense forced Auburn commit Deuce Knight into three turnovers, including a fumble on the Rebels’ final drive.

The win sets up the 33rd meeting between Picayune and nearby Pearl River Central in the opening round of the playoffs. The Blue Devils are in the postseason in year one under John Feaster for the first time since 2015. Picayune has won seven in a row in the series and Pearl River Central is averaging just 5.0 points per game in that stretch.

Ocean Springs dominates in title defense

Gulfport rolled into enemy territory with confidence and eyes set on finally snatching Region 4-7A from the Greyhounds. But Ocean Springs sent them home empty-handed with a dominant 20-3 win and the district championship for the fourth straight year.

Ocean Springs stifled Gulfport and held it to just 155 yards of offense and forced three turnovers. Sharroid Whitehead racked up over 150 rushing yards and tossed a 61-yard score to Jax Coleman.

The Greyhounds are currently slated to host Northwest Rankin in two weeks to open the playoffs, if all things hold.

Greene County denies Poplarville

The Wildcats’ blistering run continued with a 49-28 crushing of Poplarville, ripping the district from the two-time reigning champ and earning Greene County its first region championship since 2019 out of Region 8-4A.

Coby King threw for 440 yards and six touchdowns while guiding the Wildcats to their seventh straight win to finish the regular season.

Greene County will host Quitman next week in the first round while Poplarville hosts Mendenhall.

Hornets sting in Pascagoula River Bowl

East Central threw a big wrench into the race for the No. 2 seed out of Region 4-5A by upsetting Vancleave in the Pascagoula River Bowl, 28-26.

Hornet running back Taye Guyton dueled with Bulldog back Kyle Capers. The latter rushed for 152 yards and four touchdowns, but the former tallied 255 yards and his own four scores. Guyton’s last run was the most important, a 10-yard run with 34 seconds left that won the game.

The win not only kept East Central in the playoff hunt with one week to go, but it created a logjam between three 2-2 teams — Vancleave, Stone, Wayne County — battling for the second seed and a first round home game.