MHSAA 5A South football preview: Can Pascagoula slow down Alan Follis and West Jones?

The 2020 Mississippi high school football North and South State finals are finally here, and 5A South features a game between powerhouse West Jones and coast dark horse Pascagoula. Here’s a look at the 5A South matchup between the Mustangs and the Panthers:

West Jones (11-2) at Pascagoula (8-4)

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HOW THEY GOT HERE:

West Jones
Round 1: Beat Picayune 35-23
Round 2: Beat Laurel 42-21

Pascagoula
Round 1: Beat Brookhaven by forfeit
Round 2: Beat Hattiesburg 35-32 in OT

KEY PLAYERS

West Jones

QB Alan Follis — 117 of 201, 1,981 yards, 19 TD
RB Kentrell Pruitt — 169.5 yards/game, 20 TD

Pascagoula

QB Keilon Parnell — 2,032 total yards, 22 TD
RB Kayvon Barnes — 97 carries, 538 yards, 7 TD

WHY WEST JONES CAN WIN:

They've had a couple of slip-ups, but West Jones has been one of the best teams in the state, wire-to-wire. The Mustangs have an explosive offense that has averaged 37.1 points over 10 games.

It all starts with quarterback Alan Follis, who has blossomed into one of the best players in the state and recently committed to Jones County Junior College. The Mustangs have relied on big plays, and Follis and the receiving trio of Matthew Nixon, Marlon Lindsey and Tajrick Randoloh have delivered.

Follis has thrown for four or more touchdowns in back-to-back games in the playoffs, and there's no reason to think that's going to stop against Pascagoula, a defense that has given up 20 or more points in five-straight games.

The key for West Jones is going to be slowing down the Pascagoula offense and quarterback Keilon Parnell, who Mustang coach Scott Pierson said presents all kinds of challenges with his athleticism.

"They are a big team, probably the biggest we’ve seen," Pierson said. "Their offensive line is huge, and that's gonna present problems for us. That quarterback, he’s explosive. He's one of those guys that if he gets a crease, you aren’t going to catch him or take him down."

But the West Jones defense is better than it was six or seven weeks ago. They didn't exactly shut down Laurel last week, but neither did anyone else in the second half of the season. The turnovers they created more than covered for the points they gave up.

Another key for West Jones is to let tailback Kentrell Pruitt set the tone. Pruitt is a hard-nosed, between-the-tackles runner who can produce yards and punish a defense, and he's still fresh.

"We shared carries with him and Josh McDonald earlier in the season because he was banged up by this time last year," Pierson said. "That's something we learned from last year, and it's allowed him to still be explosive for us this late in the season."

WHY PASCAGOULA CAN WIN:

Everyone in Pascagoula knows how good Keilon Parnell has been down the stretch, and if everything goes according to plan Friday, everyone else is going to know too.

Parnell accounted for 168 yards last week in a knock-down, drag-out 35-32 quarterfinal win over Hattiesburg in overtime.

The key for Pascagoula is going to be slowing down that West Jones offense, which has been as-advertised over the past couple of weeks.

"They are strong and fast and their receiving corps is huge," Pascagoula coach Lewis Sims said. "They are well-coached and they do a good job of putting their guys in position to be successful. It's hard to box them in, because they are equally effective running and throwing the ball."

He's right, and that means the Panther defense is in for its biggest challenge of the season. Senior linebacker Karon Leverette and the Pascagoula defense has been good at times. On Friday, they'll need to be great.

But hey, nobody expected the Panthers to be in this position, and we're through underestimating them. Pascagoula is playing with house money at this point.

"We’ve really struggled this year with giving up big explosive plays early," Sims said. "Once we do that, we settle in and we’re fine. On Friday, we’ve got to limit those big explosive plays against those big receivers and be locked in from the first snap."

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(Feature photo by Keith Warren)