FWtCT's Weekly Prep Round-Up

Two weeks of regular season football remain and several division titles will be settled later tonight. This is the best time of the year folks. Playoff football is right around the corner and the excitement is just beginning. Let's check out the huge ball games around the state this week.

WCF's Top Four North Mississippi Games:

Noxapater at West Oktibbeha: Yes I have the boys from Pater in one of the games of the week for a second straight time. Last week, they passed their first real test in 1A by throttling Pelahatchie, thought to be one of the top two teams in the state. The defending champs did what they did last year, lost the first two ball games against good 2A competition and proceeded to roll the rest of the way. But this week will now be the biggest game of the season, and I think they're ready for the challenge to see who will be division champs. Noxapater

MRA at JA: Two 9-1 teams get to fight to see who will be number two in the state in MAIS. It's Prep and then a whole lot of other teams in AAA. The winner gets the district championship with the loser gaining Prep in the first round next week. JA

Oxford at West Point: The chargers have quietly gone undefeated so far this season. I watched them play against Lafayette earlier this year, and they looked like a contender. They've impressed me enough that I have them in the top five this week at number four. But there's another team that has continued to win, and they reside in West Point. West Point has fallen to South Panola and Noxubee, two of the top programs in the state, by a combined eight points. I think this will be a dogfight, but the Wave is riding high right now. West Point

Lamar at Simpson: I've seen both of these teams this year as they've both played Winston and dominated both from the outset for the most part. Lamar has got a strong ground game and a killer instinct. But the five time state champion Cougars don't lose in their division, and I don't expect that happening Friday night either. Simpson

@justinrsutton's Top Four South Mississippi Games:

Gulfport at Ocean Springs: The Admirals travel to the Greyhounds in a huge matchup in the race for the 6A Region 4 crown. If the Admirals win, they claim the division. If they lose, they could still claim the division, but they would need some help. The Greyhounds need to win tonight, and have Gulfport beat Biloxi next week to claim the region crown. However, Wes Windham, one of the two quarterbacks for the Magnolia State in the Mississippi/Alabama All-Star game, may not suit up for Ocean Springs. Look for the Admirals to surprise many with a region crown.

Natchez at Brandon: In all honesty, pretty much any game from 6A Region 3 could go here. This is perhaps the most exciting playoff race in the state, and a few good teams will be staying home for the postseason. The loser of this one will face a struggle to make the playoffs. Give me the Bulldogs (The Brandon variety) at Louis Gene Strickland Field.

Forrest AHS at Bay: The Bay Tigers may be the most surprising team in the state. The squad, standing at 8-0, will face their toughest challenge of the season when they host the Aggies. This should be a great game in Bay St. Louis. The winner gets the 4A Region 8 title.

Tylertown at Columbia: The 4A Region 7 crown will be up for grabs when these two teams meet up tonight. The trail to the 4A title game (presumable against Noxubee County) starts next week, and teams want to be in the one seed slot.

WCF's Players of the Week in the North:

Defensive- Keontra Anderson, Canton: This kid absolutely balled against Callaway last week. In their win, the guy got SEVEN sacks and recorded a safety. Talk about being un-blockable.

Offensive- Darrell Robinson, Noxubee: Playing for the division championship, the Tigers drove down to Louisville to take on their former coach M.C. "Toothpick" Miller. A team that has dominated defensively all year long struggled to get stops in the second half and ended up turning it into a shootout. But Robinson sure showed up. He ran for six touchdowns in the game carrying 39 times for 326 yards. He continues to be the one man band on offense. But the defense is still there and I don't expect anyone to seriously challenge for the 4A crown.

@justinrsutton's Players of the Week in the South:

Offensive-Carter Hankins, Forrest AHS, Hankins attempted only 15 passes, completing 13 of them. Of those 13 passes, six were touchdowns as he threw for 301 yards in the Aggies' 76-40 win over St. Stanislaus.

WCF's North Mississippi game of the week:

South Panola vs. Southaven: South Panola started the season lackluster. The first game of the season was one where they had to drive almost the length of the field to kick the game winning field goal as time expired against West Point. Following that ball game, they were blown off the field by two out-of-state teams. Since then, it's been all Tigers as they have controlled the division and have shown to still be a factor in 6A. But they had a huge task at hand last Friday against Southaven. The ball game was a shootout in which Southaven passed nearly 70 times but still came up short late and fell, 35-33 to the Tigers.

@justinrsutton's South Mississippi game of the week:

Ocean Springs at St. Martin: The Yellow Jackets did not pick up the victory, but they showed what they will be able to do in the future. Tyler Polk, a freshman, had a strong performance against Ocean Springs, helping the game stay nip and tuck. The game ended on when St. Martin could not convert a fourth down at the Ocean Springs 12-yard line.

WCF's Top 25 for week 11

1. Picayune (8-0)

2. Noxubee County (9-0)

3. Petal (8-1)

4. Oxford (9-0)

5. South Panola (7-2)

6. Olive Branch (8-1)

7. West Point (7-2)

8. Pascagoula (7-1)

9. Bassfield (10-0)

10. Jackson Prep (10-0)

11. Brandon (7-2)

12. Hazelhurst (10-0)

13. Itawamba AHS (9-0)

14. Oak Grove (7-2)

15. D'Iberville (7-1)

16. Tylertown (8-1)

17. Charleston (9-1)

18. Wayne County (7-2)

19. Pearl River Central (7-1)

20. Meridian (6-3)

21. Philadelphia (10-0)

22. Madison Central (6-3)

23. Jackson Academy (8-1)

24. Quitman (9-1)

25. Bay High (8-0)

@justinrsutton's MPB Top 25 Ballot

1. · Picayune

2. · Petal

3. · South Panola

4. · PRC

5. · Noxubee County

6. · Pascagoula

7. · Brandon

8. · Oxford

9. · West Point

10. · d'Iberville

11. · Ocean Springs

12. · Biloxi

13. · Olive Branch

14. · Bassfield

15. · Bay

16. · Hattiesburg

17. · Gulfport

18. · Oak Grove

19. · Meridian

20. · Natchez

21. · Wayne County

22. · Itawamba AHS

23. · Columbus

24. · Tylertown

25. · FCAHS