Region 4-6A high school football preview: Can Picayune repeat in state’s toughest region?

How many districts in the state have one team with three region titles and two state championships in three seasons, another led by a blue chip quarterback, a third with a a D-I commit and a fourth featuring the reigning South Mississippi defensive player of the year?

Probably not many. Life in Region 4-6A will get no easier in 2024. Picayune blasted through the district a year ago, but the target on its back is bigger than ever.

George County is fresh off its first eight win season since 2007, and that was with multiple stars missing a chunk of the year. Pascagoula is dotted with Division I talent on both sides of the ball and came one play away from a hosting the two-seed in the playoffs in 2023.

Hancock will be weathering losses from its historic offensive outpouring a year ago, but have multiple defensive pieces back from a unit that has caused plenty of disruption and havoc.

And, as if the region slate couldn’t get bumpier, Quincy Patrick may have his best team yet at West Harrison with a bevy of returning starters that are led by over 2,000 rushing yards between its top three rushers.

Long Beach also returns its top rusher and is hungry to build off last season’s improvement.

You can read our full break down on region 4-7A here .

Last year’s order of finish

1. Picayune : 10-3, 5-0
2. George County : 8-4, 4-1
3. Pascagoula : 8-4, 3-2
4. Hancock : 8-4, 2-3
5. West Harrison: 5-5, 1-4
6. Long Beach: 2-9, 0-5

2024 Region 4-7A preview

Top offensive player

QB Deuce Knight, George County

Knight began the 2023 season in Tennessee before ultimately deciding to return home and play the back half of the season for the Rebels. He’s the top-ranked quarterback recruit in Mississippi and just earned his fifth star, becoming the first five star QB from the state since Taylorsville product Jason Campbell in 2000 .

Top defensive player

EDGE Aidan Taylor, Hancock

Taylor is the reigning Sun Herald Defensive Player of the Year following a junior campaign that saw him lead the Coast in tackles for loss with 35 and in sacks with 11. Taylor recorded a TFL in 11 of 12 games and had four games with three stops in the backfield. The senior will be the focal point of a defense that prides itself in disruption.

Breakout player

DB Kohl Bradley, George County

Bradley missed his junior season with an injury, but still enters his final year at George County as one of the state’s premier defensive backs. He flashed the talent his sophomore season and now the South Alabama commit will finally have an opportunity to show off the high level of impact he can make in the Rebel secondary.

Picayune

The season ended quicker than the Maroon Tide had grown accustomed to and the buzz saw that was West Jones ushered in a new moment for the Picayune football team. Over 2,000 rushing yards have graduated, the longtime starting quarterback is out, two all-region offensive lineman need to be replaced and eight defensive starters are gone — including the top five tacklers.

But this is still Picayune. It’s the most consistent factory of football talent the Coast knows and the cupboard isn’t quite bare. Darrell Smith led PHS in rushing last season with 1,087 yards and the Louisiana commit is now primed for a big year as the Tide’s offensive bell cow.

While bodies need to step into bigger roles up front, coach Cody Stogner has a key piece to work around in Brennan Williams.

Triston Cooper has been a steady producer at linebacker and will see his leadership role increase as he carries his 92 career tackles and 15 tackles for loss into his senior season. He’ll be backed in the secondary by Brandon Parker, who intercepted two passes and broke up another five as a junior.

The Picayune brand has little left to prove, but the new crop of starters have work to do to uphold it. The good news is they know what winning at the highest level looks like and they have felt how losing just short of their goal feels.

The Maroon Tide understand what it takes and that’s evident in a non-district schedule that includes Brandon, Gulfport and Ocean Springs.

George County

James Ray’s fourth year featured injury bugs and tumultuous player movement and still ended with the best record the program has had in over 15 years. The Rebels went through a smooth offseason and enter the new year with hefty returning production, plenty of star power and sky high expectations.

There’s no secret who the offense works through. Knight managed to pass and run for 23 touchdowns in just seven games last season and the weapons around him will give opposing coordinators plenty of long nights on game week.

Brandon Gautier and Knight bring a combined 971 rushing yards from a year ago and the Montrell Dortch-Brenn Moody wide receiver pairing is one of the best in the state.

Ray also has seven starters back on defense, including his four top tacklers and the return of Bradley in the secondary. Blaine Green is the Coast’s leading returning tackler and has 20 games and over 200 career tackles at inside linebacker.

The question looming is how deep the roster goes. Ray dislikes bye weeks and — just like Picayune — has chosen to fill the 11-week schedule with 11 games. That means nine games without a break before heading into pivotal battles with Picayune and Pascagoula to end the year. Player health will be paramount.

Pascagoula

The Panthers were one play away from a two-seed a year ago, but still managed to upset Hattiesburg in the first round of the playoffs. Pascagoula has reloaded in ‘24 with key returners around its all-time passing touchdowns leader at quarterback.

Silas Corder enters his senior season a Southern Miss commit and has the athletic Amarie Jackson sharing the backfield with him. Split out wide is Christian Campbell and deep threat Darius Carter, giving the Panthers a deep pool of skill players to work with.

But PHS will only go as far as the offensive line will take it. Pascagoula loses its anchor in Tristan Fortenberry along with two other starters. The good news is 14th year coach Lewis Sims has depth and ongoing position battles carrying through fall camp.

It also helps to have a defense led by even more next-level talent to fall back on. The Panthers have one of the better linebacker duos in the state in Jarrad Loper and Louisiana Tech commit Jaylon Parnell and they’re backed up by four star recruit Tylan Wilson at safety.

Pascagoula will test itself with a string of non-district games against Gautier, D’Iberville and Biloxi before coming out of a bye head first into a pivotal region-opening battle at Picayune.

Hancock

Everything came together for the Hawks offense last season and the result was the highest scoring Hancock team in school history. Coach Neil Lollar’s squad will see a shift in strengths this season with eight defensive starters back and the majority of its offensive production graduated.

The Hawks enter the new season loaded on defense and it starts with edge rusher Aidan Taylor. He anchors a front line that also features lineman Jaxson Knight who registered five sacks as a sophomore.

Hancock will have to replace leading tackler Jeffrey Hopgood, but do bring back Julyan Santee at linebacker and his 122 tackles. Donte Taylor and Tyran Ramsey are also back in the secondary after combining for five interceptions a year ago.

It’s a rebuild on the other side of the ball, though. There’s just one starter back on the offensive line, a new quarterback and Lollar will be filling Zach Gullung’s shoes with a running back by committee approach.

New QB Kaison Koenenn brings a mobile element to the position and will have an experienced receiver to work with in Kaleb Schaefer. The Hawks will have a pair of home games to open the season against Natchez and Moss Point to get the wheels turning on the new-look offense.

West Harrison

It’s been a slow and methodical build for Patrick’s Hurricanes. The youngest program on the Coast is coming off its best two-year stretch in school history, but West Harrison is far from satisfied after both seasons ended one game short of the team’s first-ever playoff bid.

“We got to get it now, we’ve been setting it up for the last two years,” said running back Jordan Stapleton at SMACM media days. Stapleton has good reason to pinpoint the current moment as theirs. West Harrison has nine starters back on offense and seven more on defense.

The Hurricanes bring back all five starters on the offensive line and have a 1,000-yard rusher in Trey Harris, a 900-yard rusher in Stapleton and a 600-yard rusher in Jeremy Jones, setting up what could be one of the state’s best ground attacks.

Patrick has a stout linebacker duo in Josh Lane and John Godber to anchor a defense that has improved on its points allowed per game numbers for three consecutive years and is coming off its best season since 2011.

West Harrison gets a bye week before heading into district play and will have a chance to make a big statement and take control of its own postseason destiny right away with the region-opener at Hancock.

Long Beach

The Bearcats have won just three games over the last four season and just snapped a 23-game losing streak last season. The team has allowed over 440 points in each of the last three seasons and haven’t made the playoffs since 2011.

So why do district coaches keep bringing up Long Beach when talking about the region schedule? Third-year head coach Jacob Massey knows the answer. His program is waking up. The Bearcats have 17 returning starters from the school’s first team to win multiple games in a season since 2018.

Among that group is running back Junior Brown, a 1,000-yard rusher who scored 20 times in ‘23 and has the luxury of working behind an offensive line that brings back four starters.

Will Brady is back at quarterback and has a year in the system under his belt. Massey hopes surrounding Brady and Brown with athletic receivers Jayden Scott, SJ Valentine and Andre Windham will unlock a new dimension to the offense and allow the team to take another step forward.

Windham is going to be an important piece on defense, too, where he picked off a pair off passes from the secondary last year. Jack Foreman is taking on a leadership role at defensive end as LBHS plays a trio of sophomore linebackers who gained varsity experience as freshmen.

In a rarity, the only things that have changed from last year’s schedule are the locations. The familiarity with each opponent will give the Bearcats a good measuring stick to monitor progress with in year three under Massey.