Archer

Deuce Knight. I've not seen a better down field thrower in forty years of watching high school football. He destroyed Pascagoula outside the hashes with precision all night (which begs the question why Pascagoula insisted on press coverage), throwing off his back foot several times under heavy pressure and delivering dimes. The bad news for GC is their defense is a wet paper bag.

War Memorial hasn't been a lion's den in decades and the last era of consistently packing the stands was '87 and '88. These days the home side is about a third full most games.

I watched the live stream and wasn't very impressed with either team offensively. The Gulfport QB doesn't see the field well and was fortunate to not have thrown four interceptions (including an additional pick six in the first half). Conversely, the OS QB Berglind is limited in throwing downfield and appears to offer little more than the dreaded game manager designation. He wasn't exactly complimented by the dropped balls and the OS receivers blocked poorly in the perimeter running game with the Gulfport secondary overwhelming them for much of the night. Gulfport's front four also won the line of scrimmage too often, stonewalling the inside rush attempts. The good news for OS is they have a defense which will mostly allow them to be competitive against better 7A teams. But in today's offensive centric football, the offense is more than likely going to have to carry the load at a point in the postseason and I don't know if it's capable.

As the decades passed and the town of Biloxi was reshaped from a blue-collar, fishing and shrimping work force to a tourist/entertainment driven economy, so went the identity of those hard-nosed teams sixty years ago. Biloxi has been an afterthought for most of post integration Mississippi.

I saw it and it wasn't disparaging to comment on him clearly not being the best candidate among Collier, DuBose, and Stockstill, all of whom have been very successful head coaches (two of which are state championship winners).

Cite us a specific instance in which coast football representation -- which is quite minimal on this forum -- has been uncivil and condescending. It ain't there. You're just throwing s!&% at the wall trying to bolster your perceived grievance.

He has a 40-9 record as a head coach and you're yelling at clouds about him being mediocre.

And he built offenses around them which maximized their potential which some coaches aren't capable of. Let's not pretend he's some boob who rolled the footballs out either.

Time will tell if Bramlett was the right hire but a groundswell of support from mommies/daddies/sons for a particular candidate hardly qualifies that person as the best choice. Regardless, I hope he's successful.

I was told Eric Collier (who would've probably left to take the job at USA anyway) changed his mind after being told he had to teach so many periods. Mississippi is really hamstrung in this way after I've heard of similar situations at other schools, impeding the attractiveness of the job.

My compliments to them for trying. They're serious about competing which, sadly, most coast schools aren't.

Indeed. You hire DuBose. He's won 3 state titles in the highest classifications of Alabama. End of story.

They hired DuBose?

It is the only question.

DuBose has the most impressive resume by a considerable margin having won multiple state titles in Alabama. Very intriguing candidate.

And all this silly fretting about timing ... it's not as though spring training is next week. They're taking their time and making a diligent hire.

There's a definite ceiling at Harrison Central and Cain bumped his head against it several times. And North Gulfport isn't exactly Shangri-La either.

I watched the video from that report ... my goodness, that's a tiny stadium.

Not even a frame ... more like a few tires and other pieces scattered on the ground. I think Feaster is a highly competent coach but he's over his skis with this decision. Moss Point was competing in the highest classification as of 2006 and will have proceeded to drop (if the current trend continues) four levels in classification in less than 20 years. This is not a sleeping giant in need of awakening; it's a losing hand and seems like career self-destruction. If wrong, I'll be back to own it.

He's lost his freakin' mind. That's like trading in a well running automobile for something inoperable off the scrap heap at the junk yard. Lunacy.

A school can claim to target any coach. Feaster likely wouldn't answer a phone call from the Moss Point administration. They're finished. It's over. Done. That candidate pool will consist only of the very desperate. I worked in that district in 2008-2009 and it was a pitiful, leaderless operation then so there's no knowing the depths of incompetence prevailing now.

It's funny how entitled Gulfport is coming off all of a sudden. They've never won a state championship and have made only one finals appearance since the playoff format began in '82. And since I can remember, visiting fans often equal or exceed the number of Gulfport supporters for games at Milner. So from where has this sense of urgency sprung forth?

Mississippi doesn't need Meridian. The landscape changes over time in every state. Once proud programs fade in every state and are replaced by others -- much like Picayune and Oak Grove have risen to become standard bearers while Meridian and South Panola are in -- likely permanent -- decline. If Boyles doesn't rescue this thing, then Meridian is soon to be another Moss Point.

I wouldn't be scheduling any championship parades just yet. Boyles, while one of the better coaches in the history of MS, is long in the tooth and walking into an albatross. Does he have the energy/stamina/drive in advanced age to restore the glory at a program which no longer has the good bones and infrastructure in place to be a potential juggernaut? Doubtful.

As a Pascagoula graduate/fan, you're being generous in labeling it a traditionally, strong program. 2011-2015 was the only five year stretch of winning our program has maintained since the playoff format began.