Legendary Pascagoula Head Football Coach Bill Matthews passes away at 77

One of the best high school football coaches to ever come through South Mississippi has passed away at the age of 77.

As first reported by the Sun Herald, Pascagoula’s Bill Matthews died early Friday morning after battling a heart condition in recent months.

Matthews took the Panthers to a perfect 14-0 season in 1987 capped off by a class 5A state championship led by a pair of future college football legends and NFL players, his son Quarterback Shane Matthews and Cornerback Terrell Buckley.

Matthews coached at Pascagoula from 1986 to 1996.