Class 7a south

[Vott]

Now that its officially 2023, here are my picks 

 

7a Region 3

Brandon   

Oak Grove

Meridian

NW Rankin 

Pearl 

Petal.

 

Region 4

Gulfport

Ocean springs

Harrison Central 

Diberville 

Biloxi

ST. Martin

 

 

Edited January 3, 2023 by Vott

[maroontide06]

Well I guess we will be getting our whelps in early.  The only one missing from our equation is Oak Grove, but hey we do have a week 2 opening so maybe things can be arranged to complete the quartet.  Right now it's just a trio, but probably a nasty one at that. 

[maroontide06]

Here's my question in regards to 7A.  Does anyone in 7A have a tougher gauntlet in 7A than Picayune?  We've got 3 of the top 4 on our schedule and Gulfport and Brandon are both road games for us.  We also have d'Iberville on the road as well and they are no slouch either.  If Picayune gets through the 7A gauntlet unscathed (which I'm not expecting at this point), does Picayune have to play in the 7A title game in lieu of the 6A title game?

[Vott]

1 hour ago, maroontide06 said:

Here's my question in regards to 7A.  Does anyone in 7A have a tougher gauntlet in 7A than Picayune?  We've got 3 of the top 4 on our schedule and Gulfport and Brandon are both road games for us.  We also have d'Iberville on the road as well and they are no slouch either.  If Picayune gets through the 7A gauntlet unscathed (which I'm not expecting at this point), does Picayune have to play in the 7A title game in lieu of the 6A title game?

Region 3 7a was about as easy as my Region 3 6a picks. It is Brandon, Oak Grove and everyone else. You never know what kind of team Meridian will have to show up. They nearly upset OG last season, but really tapered off at the end of the season. I am anxious to see what will happen with Petal. Two losing seasons in a row and missing the playoffs is not sitting well with panther fans at all. They thought they were going to be a 6a school and have an easier region, but it didnt work out that way for them. In region 4 Gulfport should definitely be the favorite although I think Ocean Springs will still have enough athletes to be very competitive, unless those athletes go somewhere else.

[David]

R

Edited January 6, 2023 by David

[David]

On 1/3/2023 at 12:56 PM, Vott said:

“In region 4 Gulfport should definitely be the favorite although I think Ocean Springs will still have enough athletes to be very competitive, unless those athletes go somewhere else.”

I guess I’ll have to get used to everybody picking Gulfport over my Greyhounds, but I’m going to say not so fast. We might have lost the most talented  class of seniors in the state, but there’s a lot of good football coming back, if we can get a head coach and staff in place to continue the success. Hubbard will be the hardest to replace, obviously, though there’s a decision to be made as to starting a great young sophomore and changing up the offense to fit his skill set. With his athletic running and a whole bunch of good RBs coming back behind a big, experienced line, the offense could just be better once the QB gets his passing improved. The defense returns eight or nine starters, so might have to carry the team for a while. Since O.S. opens with Madison Central and plays Picayune mid season, expecting a couple of tough games, and the Gulfport game will show whether another playoff run could happen. I’ll have to get over the past coach taking his knowledge of the team to our rival, since that gives them a distinct advantage in this first year. I haven’t heard of any kids leaving the program like everyone has been predicting.  The kids will be motivated to play him. Whether that means that we beat them is yet to be seen. The district is there for the taking by those two teams. 

Edited just now by David

[Vott]

Nobody has posted on here since January.  What are your thoughts going into the season now that we are a little over a month away?

[Dubaction]

I usually don’t make very bold predictions about my home town heroes…but OG should come out of the south…barring injury. Probably the most confident I’ve been in years about it. Causey couldn’t ask for more talent than he has this year. 

Edited July 12, 2023 by Dubaction

[Vott]

1 hour ago, Dubaction said:

I usually don’t make very bold predictions about my home town heroes…but OG should come out of the south…barring injury. Probably the most confident I’ve been in years about it. Causey couldn’t ask for more talent than he has this year. 

I just cant see OG being more talented this season than the teams that played in the back to back title games vs Oxford. Or even the team they had vs Horn Lake when they had Plumlee

[Dubaction]

7 minutes ago, Vott said:

I just cant see OG being more talented this season than the teams that played in the back to back title games vs Oxford. Or even the team they had vs Horn Lake when they had Plumlee

Much more talented than 2 of those teams especially the Plumlee team. The team that beat Oxford in Jackson is close but none of those teams had nearly the amount of players with D1 looks and offers. Hell we have a Junior LB that hasn’t started a down get a Tulane offer a month ago. The question is will they end up being the best cohesive unit. That’s what matters most. 

[ccbulldog]

How will O.G. do at Hoover?

[Dubaction]

I’m not entirely sure but I’m optimistic. We’ve been pretty competitive against OOS opponents the last couple of years. I can’t see any other year where Causey would schedule a game of this magnitude if he didn’t think he had the talent/athletes to pull it off. But we might get badly outcoached. 

Edited July 16, 2023 by Dubaction

[s1nglewing]

Hoover by 10

[Matt]

On 1/6/2023 at 10:23 AM, David said:

I guess I’ll have to get used to everybody picking Gulfport over my Greyhounds, but I’m going to say not so fast. We might have lost the most talented  class of seniors in the state, but there’s a lot of good football coming back, if we can get a head coach and staff in place to continue the success. Hubbard will be the hardest to replace, obviously, though there’s a decision to be made as to starting a great young sophomore and changing up the offense to fit his skill set. With his athletic running and a whole bunch of good RBs coming back behind a big, experienced line, the offense could just be better once the QB gets his passing improved. The defense returns eight or nine starters, so might have to carry the team for a while. Since O.S. opens with Madison Central and plays Picayune mid season, expecting a couple of tough games, and the Gulfport game will show whether another playoff run could happen. I’ll have to get over the past coach taking his knowledge of the team to our rival, since that gives them a distinct advantage in this first year. I haven’t heard of any kids leaving the program like everyone has been predicting.  The kids will be motivated to play him. Whether that means that we beat them is yet to be seen. The district is there for the taking by those two teams. 

Edited just now by David

Actually MLB did leave. I don't think he ended up where he wanted but I guess we'll know for sure in a few weeks. Defense will be solid regardless. New QB is obviously an unknown but I haven't heard anything but good things. Good size and very intelligent.  Strong pre-district schedule will show where OS is early for sure. I haven't heard much about Gulfport except for they have the big QB. They always have talent all over the field. Should be interesting. May be wishful thinking, but after a down year,  I'm hoping D'ville gets back to their winning ways soon!

[coastfootballfanman]

2 hours ago, Matt said:

Actually MLB did leave. I don't think he ended up where he wanted but I guess we'll know for sure in a few weeks. Defense will be solid regardless. New QB is obviously an unknown but I haven't heard anything but good things. Good size and very intelligent.  Strong pre-district schedule will show where OS is early for sure. I haven't heard much about Gulfport except for they have the big QB. They always have talent all over the field. Should be interesting. May be wishful thinking, but after a down year,  I'm hoping D'ville gets back to their winning ways soon!

I was told that Eric Moore is in fact back at Ocean Springs High School. I was also told that backup Quarterback Connor White who transferred to Moss Point in the spring is also back at Ocean Springs. I heard their stud sophomore Quarterback was injured in the spring and they are looking at having him play WR. All hearsay at this point obviously. 

[coastfootballfanman]

Region 4-7A I expect to be super competitive. Ocean Springs returns almost everything on defense and added senior safety Kristian Dillard from Gulfport who is coming over with his father. I expect them to be almost lights out defensively. Offensively there is some retooling with losing some receivers and one of the best high school football players I have seen. Gulfport will be tough. Pennock has put together a really solid staff and Gulfport does return a good bit on both sides of the ball, especially defense. Harrison Central lost a good bit offensively and on defense. I expect them to take a step back this year but will compete for a playoff spot. d'Iberville is a year older and more experienced. I do not believe they have the overall talent they have had in years past, but I believe they will be hard nosed and disciplined. Biloxi lost a ton defensively and some key players offensively. St. Martin is going to be BAD. I will surprised to see them win a game. Ty Smith has done a good job building a nice culture there, but they are not very good. I see the region playing out like so:

Ocean Springs (you could flip them with Gulfport and I would not have issue with it)

Gulfport

d'Iberville

Harrison Central

Biloxi

St. Martin

[David]

On 7/17/2023 at 12:23 PM, coastfootballfanman said:

I was told that Eric Moore is in fact back at Ocean Springs High School. I was also told that backup Quarterback Connor White who transferred to Moss Point in the spring is also back at Ocean Springs. I heard their stud sophomore Quarterback was injured in the spring and they are looking at having him play WR. All hearsay at this point obviously. 

First off, it’s great to see the conversation on here picking up as we move closer to the regular season! I’m glad that you broke the news about him coming back, because I had heard some strong rumors, but didn’t have the nod to say it’s true. Adding that safety who came with his Dad, who was the defensive coordinator over at that other school that I won’t name and should help this defense be top rated. 
 

The offense could also be really good at running back with a whole list of guys lined up, an Oline averaging almost 300, returning most and adding a soph stud. If Whitehead is able to play, even at RB or WR, it takes pressure off of the QB position until they figure it out. Nobody’s going undefeated in the regular season like the last two years, but by the end of the season, this could be a team with playoff aspirations. 
Again, it’s good to hear from y’all taking high school football. Let’s keep this going so we can get the info we need to back our teams. 

Edited July 19, 2023 by David

[coastfootballfanman]

12 hours ago, David said:

First off, it’s great to see the conversation on here picking up as we move closer to the regular season! I’m glad that you broke the news about him coming back, because I had heard some strong rumors, but didn’t have the nod to say it’s true. Adding that safety who came with his Dad, who was the defensive coordinator over at that other school that I won’t name and should help this defense be top rated. 
 

The offense could also be really good at running back with a whole list of guys lined up, an Oline averaging almost 300, returning most and adding a soph stud. If Whitehead is able to play, even at RB or WR, it takes pressure off of the QB position until they figure it out. Nobody’s going undefeated in the regular season like the last two years, but by the end of the season, this could be a team with playoff aspirations. 
Again, it’s good to hear from y’all taking high school football. Let’s keep this going so we can get the info we need to back our teams. 

Well it is finally getting close to that time of year and my excitement is back! LOL. Summer time is usually pretty busy for me and the family. I like to cash in on my PTO and travel with the family. Finally settling back in this week. I am excited we are just a few weeks away from Friday night football 

[maroontide06]

12 hours ago, David said:

First off, it’s great to see the conversation on here picking up as we move closer to the regular season! I’m glad that you broke the news about him coming back, because I had heard some strong rumors, but didn’t have the nod to say it’s true. Adding that safety who came with his Dad, who was the defensive coordinator over at that other school that I won’t name and should help this defense be top rated. 
 

The offense could also be really good at running back with a whole list of guys lined up, an Oline averaging almost 300, returning most and adding a soph stud. If Whitehead is able to play, even at RB or WR, it takes pressure off of the QB position until they figure it out. Nobody’s going undefeated in the regular season like the last two years, but by the end of the season, this could be a team with playoff aspirations. 
Again, it’s good to hear from y’all taking high school football. Let’s keep this going so we can get the info we need to back our teams. 

I guess it must suck to be intertwined with Gulfport, but I guess that was part of the coaching shuffle.  Hopefully the dust has settled and Ocean Springs can get back to being Ocean Springs.  Have a safe trip to the Yune when y'all get to come play us.  I think I'll enjoy not having to travel that week LOL!

[David]

4 hours ago, maroontide06 said:

I guess it must suck to be intertwined with Gulfport, but I guess that was part of the coaching shuffle.  Hopefully the dust has settled and Ocean Springs can get back to being Ocean Springs.  Have a safe trip to the Yune when y'all get to come play us.  I think I'll enjoy not having to travel that week LOL!

The adult in me says that the coach and Gulfport did nothing wrong, just doing what’s best for each of their situations, but I know that the kids in O.S. were surprised and disappointed when the guy they trusted took what must have been a better paycheck for his family. We were lucky to be able to move the brains of our offense up to the head coach spot, so excited about that. We added the defensive coordinator from over there to lead our linebackers, and he brought his highly recruited son with him. Our linebacker who wanted to transfer over there realized that was un doable and will probably come back for his senior year. (but you didn’t hear that from me) Best LB on the Coast if you don’t consider Waller a LB. While the dust has settled, alot of folks are looking forward to that November date with them, as well as our game in Picayune. I just wish they would have played last year to watch Dowdell and Hubbard exchange blows. Good luck with your season. 

Edited July 19, 2023 by David

[Deonte3455]

Region 3 is looking pretty deep. Region 4 Gulfport and OS

[Deonte3455]

Is OG due for a slip-up?

[Bulldogs4]

Doubt it. Meridian-OG has kind of been like State-Bama over the last 5-6 years. OG has been the better team and even when we have had a chance to win we have found a way to lose. 
 

Meridian is 3-3 this year but we could be 5-1. But we are still a major work in progress although we have improved some during the season. This will be by far our toughest test to date.

 

OG is clearly the better team but we will see how goes Friday night. 

[David]

3 hours ago, Deonte3455 said:

Is OG due for a slip-up?

I can’t imagine that, but there are a couple of games that might go against them. A little more competition in district than I expected, namely Pearl, NW Rankin, and the usual Brandon team that knows how to win when the weather gets cooler. Ocean Springs is what I thought they were, a work in progress, but if they caught a break or two, might pull the upset. Mostly hopefull thinking, yeah, O.G. is the overwhelming favorite at this point. 

[Dubaction]

6 hours ago, Deonte3455 said:

Is OG due for a slip-up?

Lmao… why us??