With most teams either on a open date or about to player their last game before region play begins, this is a big week for action around the state. Let's take a deeper look.
WinstonCounty'sFinest Top Games 5 games of the week: Noxubee at West Point: Another part of Noxubee's grueling schedule. West Point seems to be getting stronger with every game. Both of these defenses are some of the most physical in the state of Mississippi and I don't expect that to change. This could be one of the more fun games to watch this season. Noxubee has been, so far, the most dominant in the state and I don't know if that will change or not this week but I have a feeling they'll pull another one out. Noxubee
Olive Branch at MUS: I don't know just how good Olive Branch is, but they continue to do one thing: Win. MUS has proved to be one of the nation's top programs and even took down South Panola at their highest point. I expect this to be a fun game and possibly high scoring. We'll see if Olive Branch can keep their 18 game winning streak in tack. Olive Branch
South Panola at Bentonville: This game is huge for Lance Pogue and the Tiger program. They were embarrassed for a second consecutive season two weeks ago by Hoover. They've always been known as the power in the state and playing a high profile team in Arkansas is important in them keeping their prestige. I think this team will be back on track after this one. South Panola
Jackson Prep at Pearl: The Bright Lights Football game of the week on FoxSportsSouth went down last night and if you're an offensive man/woman, you probably weren't too fond of it. Prep and Pearl have begun somewhat of a rivalry over the past few years and Prep proved again last night that they could play with several of the big boys in the state. Pearl is no contender but to most fans in Mississippi, Academy schools have no business on the same field with most public school teams. While this is true about the majority of the MAIS schools, this isn't the case with Prep. Possibly the most well-coached team in the state, Prep controlled the line of scrimmage and showed incredible fundamentals. Ryan Bucannan wasn't much of a factor at all but it didn't matter as Ricky Black got to win number 300 in his career and Prep nailed three field goals for the shutout, 9-0.
Aberdeen at West Bolivar: West Bolivar is stepping out this week and playing much bigger competition. Kailo Moore will have a big night but will that be enough for a Aberdeen team going through the gauntlet? Aberdeen
justinrsutton presents: Top 5 games of the week: The lucky folk this week are the fans on the Gulf Coast as two great matchup take place south of I-10.
Picayune at Ocean Springs: This is a top twenty matchup between two teams that have not seen the field in three weeks. Last year, Ocean Springs left Picayune with a 17-15 victory. Later, Picayune went on to claim a state championship.
The Maroon Tide has looked lights out most of the year. Everyone knows Dodd Lee will have his team running the football. Ocean Springs like to utilize the pass, which will provide a contrast in style. The important thing to look for will be if the Greyhounds can stop the Picayune running attack and exploit their cover-0 coverage. In the end, look for Picayune to avenge last year's loss.
Oak Grove at Gulfport: Brett Favre comes down to the coast to coordinate the offense against the Admirals. After a loss to South Panola last week, Gulfport will try to get back on track before opening up region play with St. Martin next week in a game that may have major playoff implications. Oak Grove has been solid if not spectacular, and it says here that Oak Grove will have enough fire power to pick up the road victory.
West Monroe (LA) at Madison Central: Cross state matchups always bring a bit of buzz and excitement, and this game should be no different. In what feels like a wide open north, Madison Central will look to use a win in this game to spring board to bigger things in the same way they did last year. Look for the Jaguars to pick up the win at home.
WinstonCountysFinest's Last week's game of the week: West Point at Starkville: The final score of 47-22, West Point is not indicative of how close the game was. It was a back and forth with an offensive explosion. But Starkville finally ran out of gas and West Point took control. Injuries continue to mount for the Yellow Jackets but the good news is they do have Gabe Myles back. I think they'll continue to get better.
Justinrsutton's Last week's game of the week: I had to go with co-winners this week. St. Martin's last minute 25-22 win over St. Stanislaus will play a huge role in the rebuilding of the Yellow Jacket program, and with question marks surrounding Gulfport, it may help spring board them into the playoff hunt. Bassfield also gets love here for their 22-15 win over Forrest County AHS.
WinstonCountysFinest's North's Offensive Player of the week: Deion Howard, Hamilton: Did anyone tackle this kid? He only got 14 times............... For THREE-HUNDRED TWENTY THREE YARDS... And four td's to boot. Gees kid get you some.
Justinrsutton's South's Offensive Player of the week: Running backs with big yardage on a couple of carries always stand out. Malik Luckas of Poplarville ran for 294 yards and four scores on 13 carries. That is a tidy average of 22.6 yards a carry.
WinstonCountysFinest's North's Defensive Player of the week: Chris Jones, Houston: This kid's stock is rising with every game and Friday against my Ackerman Indians, he absolutely blew up. If his 16 tackles with a sack and four for losses weren't enough, his motor coming off the ball was incredible. If you haven't seen his video I encourage you to youtube that... Like now.
Justinrsutton's South's Offensive Player of the week: Jermaine Blackwell (Bogue Chitto) finished his contest with Mount Olive with 16 tackles. To top it off, he also ran for a touchdown in his team's 28-6 win.
Top 25 for week 4 as seen by WinstonCountysFinest
1. Meridian (4-0)
2. Olive Branch (3-0)
3. Picayune (2-0)
4. Brandon (4-0)
5. Noxubee County (4-0)
6. Pascagoula(3-0)
7. South Panola (2-1)
8. Tylertown (4-0)
9. West Point (2-1)
10. Petal (3-1)
11. Biloxi (2-1)
12. Hattiesburg (3-0)
13. Oxford (4-0)
14. Jackson Prep (5-0)
15. Oak Grove (3-0)
16. Madison Central (1-2)
17. Lafayette County (3-1)
18. Hazelhurst (4-0)
19. Ocean Springs (1-1)
20. Jackson Academy (4-0)
21. Bassfield (4-0)
22. Water Valley (4-0)
23. Charleston (3-1)
24. Cleveland (4-0)
25. Wayne County (2-2)
Top 25 as seen by justinrsutton and submitted to the MPB Top 25
- Picayune
- Meridian
- Brandon
- Olive Branch
- Biloxi
- Noxubee
- Pascagoula
- Petal
- West Point
- South Panola
- Ocean Springs
- Tylertown
- Hattiesburg
- Oak Grove
- PRC
- Oxford
- Wayne County
- Madison Central
- D'Iberville
- Bassfield
- Forest County AHS
- Hazelhurst
- Jackson Prep
- St. Martin
- Columbus