End of a nearly two-year losing streak the story of Week 5 on the Mississippi Coast

Week 5 around the Mississippi Coast produced head-turning games from some of the region’s biggest names.

They led to a resounding blowout, a statement win and a streak-snapping victory. The full list of scores can be found at SunHerald.com.

Here are the five biggest stories from week five.

Blue Devils snap streak

Pearl River Central left the field winners for the first time since Oct. 7, 2022, snapping a 17-game losing streak with a 56-35 win over Bay High.

The Blue Devils have been noticeably more competitive under first-year head coach John Feaster. They’ve scored at least 28 points in four straight games for the first time since 2018 and have given Poplarville, Pass Christian and South Jones close calls in the process.

Quarterback Qorday Russell has been a handful for opponents and was instrumental in the win over the Tigers. The junior was responsible for eight touchdowns, four through the air and four on the ground, and even booted two punts for an average of 52.5 yards.

Picayune bounces back

The Tide can never be counted out. One week after taking a 20-point home beating at the hands of Gulfport, Picayune responded by taking down Ocean Springs 38-35 in a dramatic battle of Coast heavyweights.

Darrell Smith scored four rushing touchdowns and has ran his season total up to 11 scores in just five games. Picayune trailed at halftime and then needed to fend off a rapid Greyhound rally in the fourth quarter after the Maroon Tide had built a 17-point advantage.

Picayune has put itself through the ringer this season with games against Brandon, the Admirals and next up Petal on the road.

Pascagoula rips through Biloxi

The Indians entered Friday allowing just 12.8 points per game and had just held an explosive Hattiesburg offense to just 12 points in the previous week.

That didn’t seem to affect Silas Corder and his Panthers. Pascagoula poured 31 first-half points on Biloxi in the 100th meeting between the two teams on its way to a 44-3 thumping. Corder threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns in the process.

Pascagoula heads into a bye next week before Region 4-6A play begins with a critical bout against Picayune. The Panthers are a perfect 4-0 at home, but have both the Maroon Tide and George County on the road.

Air Raid Bulldogs

For the second time during Kevin Fant’s tenure at Vancleave — now in year six — the Bulldogs are winners of three in a row. Vancleave piled on 425 total yards of offense in a 35-14 win over Hancock and got a chunk of it in unorthodox fashion for the traditionally ground-centric program.

Wyatt Adams threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns and Martin Shaw was on the receiving end of 102 yards and both passing scores. Shaw’s night was the school’s first 100-yard receiving game since 2019.

Vancleave’s next time about will be a district match with Gautier and that is followed by another pivotal game against Stone, creating a formative opening two weeks for Region 4-5A.

Deuce-less Rebels find a win

George County played without its five star quarterback Deuce Knight for the second straight game after the Notre Dame commit left early in 30-13 loss to Biloxi in Week 3.

Offense was again tough to come by, but Brandon Gautier’s two rushing touchdowns and three forced turnovers from the defense lifted the Rebels to a 20-13 win over Wayne County. Mark Harvey returned a fumble for a touchdown and Kohl Bradley and Caison Little both had interceptions.

Knight’s status is unclear since suffering what was described to the Sun Herald as a hamstring injury against the Indians.