News 25’s 25 Teams in 25 Days: Pascagoula Panthers

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (WXXV) –The Pascagoula Panthers have talent all over the field heading into 2023, and now they’re looking to finish their storybook with the same ending they started with.

“It kind of bookends their careers,” said Pascagoula head football coach Lewis Sims. “They started as freshmen and we went to a South State championship. Now as seniors, they’ve got a chance to lead us back into the mix of the playoffs.”

“The 2020 team had some great leadership, some great dogs because they were very vocal,” said Pascagoula senior left tackle Tristen Fortenberry. “They were very passionate about the sport. You could see every day, every time we lost a game, you could see somebody crying, you could see somebody very enthusiastic.”

Not quite as many happy tears in Pascagoula over the last two seasons, now coming off back-to-back four-win seasons (most recently 4-6), still in search of the program’s first trip back to the playoffs since that 2020 run to the 5A South State Championship game.

“Lots of ups and downs, good moments, bad moments, but at the end of the day, I feel like this is one of the strongest teams on the Coast emotionally and mentally because we went through a lot as brothers,” said Pascagoula senior defensive lineman Jeffery Rush, Jr.

The Panthers have gained that strength on the other side of adversity, in the form of déjà vu. In 2021, the Panthers lost their first four district games, only to win their last three. And then again in 2022, they dropped their first five district games – capped off by a one-point senior night loss to Biloxi – before winning their last two.

“We just need to finish strong,” said Pascagoula junior outside linebacker Jaylon Parnell.

“Start off hard early and finish hard,” said Rush, Jr.

“Finish, that’s what we live by, finish and dominate,” said Fortenberry.

“We really focused in the off-season on finishing,” said Sims. “We weren’t able to close out a couple games, where we had opportunities to close them out, so we really focused on that in the off-season and the word for us was always finish. Finish what we started, finish the game, finish the practice, finish the rep, and if we can continue to finish, then we’re going to be okay.”

The Panthers get a fresh start in their return to the new Class 6A, led by 23 seniors and more than half their starters back.

For Pascagoula, it all starts in the trenches with Rush, Jr., a 4-Star Ole Miss commit who even plays a little running back.

“The main thing we’re focused on as a defense as a whole is discipline, so as long as we do our job, we’re going to make some noise on the defensive side of the ball,” said Rush, Jr.

“He’s a very special player, but not only is he a special player, but he’s a special person,” said Sims. “He comes from a really good family who really supported him throughout this process. He works really hard to do well in the classroom, as well as taking care of his business in the hallways, and especially out here on the football field and in the weight room, and you couldn’t ask for a better teammate than Jeffery Rush.”

“He sets the standard on the defense,” said Parnell. “Me and him, we set the standard and we pick it up, and he’s just a dog – physical, fast, explosive.”

If opposing offenses try to run away from Rush, they’ll run right into Parnell – the other 4-Star recruit – and the younger brother of former Pascagoula quarterback Keilon Parnell, who’s now a freshman on the Mississippi State baseball team.

Fortenberry is yet another guy getting Division I looks up front.

“Everybody makes each other better every day because there’s just so much competition, even if you’re not ranked or nationally recruited, it’s just everybody makes each other better because we have some athletes,” said Fortenberry. “We have some dogs.”

As for the offense, Sims says there’s some QB competition between Silas Corder and Jarrad Loper, Jr., who also plays some linebacker.

No matter who’s under center, he’ll have plenty of weapons at his disposal, starting at running back with Cameron DeFlanders, Jaden Webb and Amarie Jackson, as well as Brian Barnes, Jr. and Jahkobian Maye at wide receiver, just to name a few.

“One thing we’ve talked about is having OKG’s – Our Kind of Guys – guys that are tough, they’re gritty, they’re smart and they love to play football, so we’re looking for a lot of OKG’s – Our Kind of Guys – down here in Pascagoula,” said Sims.

Those kind of guys are still living by Pascagoula’s WARFACE mentality, standing for Work, Accountability, Respect, Family, Attitude, Character, Enthusiasm. This year, it’s all about the ‘F’ word.

“I feel like family because if you’re not playing as a family, then what’s the point of playing football at all?,” said Rush, Jr.

“Coach Sims, he’s always coming with a book or something, always talking about the WARFACE mentality,” said Parnell.

“Through thick and thin, family is going to be there through good times and through bad, and we’re there to support each other no matter what, and Panther football is a family,” said Sims.

Pascagoula kicks off its 2023 campaign on the road at Moss Point for their annual Battle of the Cats on August 25.

Parnell pulled in another SEC offer on Wednesday from Missouri.