This edition of Gridiron Football’s School Spotlight will be covering Pascagoula High School a 6A Region 4 program located in Pascagoula Mississippi along the Gulf Coast. The Panthers have been very successful in giving student athletes the opportunity to play at the next level. Two notable alumni are both former NFL Players Terrell Buckley and Shane Matthews. Both were very successful at the Division 1 level, Matthews playing at Florida and Buckley playing at Florida State. Since 2011 the Panthers have won 2 region titles, and appeared in 2 South State Championship games winning 1 of those appearances. Coach Lewis Sims is the longest tenured coach in Pascagoula and along the Gulf Coast being at the helm for 13 seasons.
We had the opportunity to talk with Coach Sims about his coaching path and what Pascagoula Football is all about. Sims played football at the US Naval Academy before becoming an assistant coach at Moss Point High School in the 90’s. He moved to the state of New York with his wife and coached for 4 years before coming back to Moss Point and becoming the defensive coordinator. He eventually took over the head coaching job at Moss Point when legendary Mississippi High School coach Jerry Alexander retired. After 3 years at Moss Point Sims moved to Pascagoula and has been the coach for 13 years now. During his time at Pascagoula there have been 55 student athletes to go on and play some form of college football.
What is your philosophy when it comes to coaching?
“I want my team to have a war face mentality. This is something we adopted in 2011 and it has become a principle amongst the program. We need to get to work, there are no free lunches in life and in football. Respect the opportunities given to you and take advantage of them. Respect our community and protect the family name. Accountability is the best type of ability. And remember to be enthusiastic and attack the day.”
The Panthers run a base 3-4 defense but can move into multiple different sets based off of the offense and where their strengths are. Offensively they are a powerful team, they want to beat you with the run up front with power and speed. The Panthers try to be 50-50 in the air and on the ground, but if they can run the ball they are going to run it all over.
Some notable players for the Panthers include Defensive Lineman and Running Back Jeffrey Rush who will be going into his 4h year on varsity this upcoming season. Last year he had 11 tackles for loss and 8 sacks along with 2 rushing touchdowns. Jeffrey is 6’3 255 LBS and wins many encounters with his physical presence beating his opponents with strength and speed.
Another player to look out for is Tristen Fortenberry. Tristen is a 6’6 275 LBS Offensive Tackle who will be going into his 3rd year on the Varsity squad. Last season he made the All Region team allowing only 1 sack all season. Tristen utilizes his base well and has great footwork, an important skill to have when protecting the Quarterback.
And finally we have Class of 2025 Inside Linebacker Jaylon Parnell. As a sophomore Jaylon was 1st team All Region with 10 tackles for loss and a pick. Jaylon stands at 6’2 220 LBS. Jaylon isn’t afraid to fly into a hole and make contact. He wants to make a pop and is excellent at finding that ball carrier and taking him down.
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