With the help of our local athletes, the 2023 Bernard Blackwell All-Star Classic trophy belongs to the South team

Out of 12,600 high school football players in the state, the top ten percent of players were chosen to participate in the 2023 Bernard Blackwell North/South All-Star game, and out of those 45 standouts chosen to represent the South, 15 of them were from right here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

For the fourth year in a row, the 2023 Bernard Blackwell all-star classic trophy belongs to the south! Some of our local players tell News 25 what winning this game at home means to them, while South skipper and Gulfport head coach Blake Pennock tells us his experience leading this team.

“It’s a great time. It’s an awesome opportunity to be here at Gulfport too as well. It’s been a home for me and we had a great group of guys and absolutely great coaches that our state has to offer and being around them and learning football and all that is just an awesome experience,” said Head Coach Blake Pennock.

“It means a lot,” said Pass Christian wide receiver Terry Patton Jr. “It was a great experience meeting new people and people that have accomplished the same stuff as they’re school and it was just a good experience. It was just fun. Us and the North just chopping it up and talking smack and it was just a fun environment and it was just fun. Even if we lost, you can’t be mad. It was just a good experience.”

“Coach always says play for the name across your chest so I played for Picayune, I played for the whole south, and I even played for Mississippi because we’re all just one team at the end of the day. We’re all Mississippi,” said Picayune’s Niquis Ratcliff.

“It meant everything coming out here and representing my community, my family, and everybody in Hancock county. It meant everything to me,” said Hancock’s Jeffrey Hopgood.

Dylan Moran: “It’s an honor getting to play with these guys you hear about all year and it just makes me proud of myself and what I’ve done at Hancock,” said Hancock’s Dylan Moran.

After the game, Pass Christian’s Terry Patton Jr. was recognized with the Academic Achievement Award, while Picayune’s Jabari Mcwilliams was named the Most Valuable Defensive player.

Congratulations to our Gulf Coast players and coaches on their incredible win!