WLOX unveiled its Week 11 high school football rankings and pushed Gulfport into the top spot, a change that reshaped the upper end of the poll heading into the final week of the regular season. The station also named Pascagoula at Gautier as the Week 11 Game of the Week, putting a playoff race directly into its featured Friday night window.
D'Iberville fell to number two after its 28-24 loss to Gulfport, while Poplarville stayed at number three and Pass Christian held at number four. Picayune sat fifth after winning its sixth straight region title, and St. Martin remained number six following a bye week. The poll also included Greene County at ninth after a 7-3 regular season, and East Central remained in position to chase a top two seed in the 5A playoffs.
The rankings matter because they are arriving right before Week 11 games decide seeding, and the featured matchup carries immediate postseason consequences. Pascagoula and Gautier are tied to the same game but not the same path: a Pascagoula win would clinch a playoff berth and eliminate Gautier, while a Gautier win would send Pascagoula out of the bracket. If Gautier gets the result it needs, the Gators would still need either Hancock to beat Long Beach or Picayune to beat Pearl River Central to lock up a playoff spot.
That is where the poll gets messy. Hancock sits one spot ahead of the Hawks even though Hancock already clinched a top two seed and beat Pearl River Central, a placement that gives the rankings a sharper edge than the records alone explain. WLOX will air a full preview of the Week 11 Game of the Week on Wednesday night at 10pm, and the Friday Night Football Showdown will be played on Thursday night this week, giving the race another day to tighten before the matchup arrives.
WLOX’s decision to pair the rankings release with Pascagoula and Gautier makes the stakes plain: this is not just a poll, it is a map of who still has something to play for. Pascagoula moved to 14-10 all time against Gautier last season, and Gautier has won four of the last six meetings, so the numbers and the bracket pressure will both be in the frame when the teams meet.
