New Hope football coach Wade Tackett still feels like his team can hang with anyone.
The Trojans have done it all season, after all.
“We’ve been in every single game until the end this year,” Tackett said Thursday. “For various reasons, we haven’t been able to pull it off.”
Self-inflicted wounds have been a major problem for New Hope (2-5), which has three games left to play this season. But Tackett pointed out that his team is barely over halfway in MHSAA Class 5A, Region 1 play so far — with a strong run to close out the season, the Trojans can create enough “chaos” to make the playoffs.
That postseason push begins Friday with a home game against Lafayette (5-2), which holds the tiebreaker over Center Hill for the No. 1 spot in the region. Tackett said he’s worried by the strength of the Commodores’ defensive line — one of the best in Class 5A — and said other coaches have told him Lafayette’s defense is the best in the region.
The Trojans certainly remember that from last year’s contest, which was switched at the last minute from Friday to Saturday and from New Hope to Oxford because of weather. With injuries mounting and a tough matchup in Lafayette quarterback — and Class 5A “Mr. Football” winner — Randy Anderson, the Commodores notched a 28-7 win.
“We played hard for four quarters, gave them a bit of a scare,” Tackett said.
This time, the Trojans don’t feel “outmatched” like they did last October and think they will “get over that hump” and pull off the win Friday.
“We’re expecting a victory,” Tackett said. “We don’t go out there just hoping.”
Heritage Academy (6-2) at Washington School (1-7)
Heritage Academy came out flat against Lamar School on Oct. 9 in Meridian after a bye the prior week.
So coach Sean Harrison knows he has to get his players prepared for the first-round playoff bye they’ll soon be facing.
The Patriots travel to Greenville on Friday to take on Washington School, a team they beat 51-0 last year, in the final game of the 2020 regular season. By virtue of clinching the district last week with a 27-18 win over Starkville Academy, Heritage Academy will get a week off before hosting a game in the second round of the playoffs.
“Hopefully, we’ll go over there and do what we’re supposed to do and then jump right back in it next week to keep the competitive level up to be ready for the second-round game,” Harrison said.
Harrison said his players will have to be “self-starters” and maintain the motivation needed to beat the Generals, a team the coach said is still talented despite injuries that have come at the expense of victories this year.
“We can’t just show up and win,” Harrison said. “We’re going to have to go do our job.”
South Pontotoc (4-3) at Caledonia (2-4)
Caledonia coach Michael Kelly isn’t exactly sure what it will take for his team to make the Class 4A playoffs this year.
“I just know we need to win each and every week,” Kelly said. “We’ll let the standings and stuff take care of itself after the end of the season.”
The playoff picture is certainly muddled by Caledonia’s 37-12 home loss to Pontotoc last week in a game in which distractions and other things got in the way, Kelly said.
“Our kids didn’t play very well last week,” the coach said. “We didn’t execute very well.”
That will have to change Friday against South Pontotoc in Caledonia’s final home game of the season.
“Our kids need to make sure they play well, and we need to execute on all cylinders to give ourselves a chance to win,” Kelly said.
Like Caledonia, South Pontotoc saw a lot of growth from last season to this one. Caledonia won the matchup between the two 62-21 last season, but the Cougars are much improved, Kelly said, and they’ll pose a tough test Friday.
“We need to rise up to the challenge,” Kelly said.
Okolona (1-6) at West Lowndes (4-3)
Because of injuries at the quarterback position, West Lowndes had to change its entire offensive philosophy.
With starter Melvin Crawford Jr., backup Marquez Shelton and even third-stringer Fredrick Rice all banged up, coach Anthony King traded in the Panthers’ spread offense for a power running game.
So far, it’s paid off. West Lowndes has posted a 48-26 win over Smithville and a 37-7 blowout of Noxapater.
On Friday, the Panthers will test their new offense again when they host Okolona, currently winless in district play. King admitted he knows his team can’t take anything for granted after a 28-13 win over the Chieftains last year that was close all the way through.
With three home games to go, West Lowndes still has a shot at the No. 2 seed in Region 2-1A and a first-round playoff game at home, so the Panthers hope to continue their success Friday.
“It’s homecoming, so we just want to get out there and try to get this win,” King said.
Choctaw County (5-2) at Noxubee County (4-1)
Noxubee County coach Teddy Young is well aware Choctaw County will be out for revenge against Young’s Tigers on Friday in Macon.
After the Tigers beat the Chargers in last year’s Class 3A state semifinal, it’s to be expected, Young said.
“They’re going to have a chip on their shoulder coming into tomorrow night’s game,” he said Thursday.
As the defending north state champion, Noxubee County has seen plenty of teams gunning for an upset win over the Tigers this season. Only one school — West Point — has succeeded, though that victory was hardly an upset.
Choctaw County managed to knock off Noxubee County in Ackerman during the 2019 regular season, with the Tigers heavily victimized by turnovers.
Young said ball security and winning in the trenches will be fundamental once again Friday.
“If we take care of the football and win at the line of scrimmage, we’ll give ourselves a good chance of winning that game,” he said.
Columbus Christian Academy (1-8) at Calhoun Academy (4-4)
Columbus Christian Academy wraps up its regular season Friday in Calhoun City.
The Rams, coming off a 32-12 home loss to Hebron Christian School, will be on the road at Calhoun Academy this week.
The Cougars have a .500 record featuring wins over Hebron, West Memphis Christian School (Arkansas), Prentiss Christian School and Kemper Academy. They’ve lost to Lee Academy (Arkansas), Delta Academy, North Sunflower Academy and DeSoto School (Arkansas).
Winona Christian (7-2) at Oak Hill Academy (3-5)
Oak Hill Academy likely secured a playoff berth with last week’s win over Central Holmes Christian last week in Lexington.
The Raiders can head into the postseason on a hot streak by beating Winona Christian on Friday in West Point.
Winona has two straight victories after a loss to Carroll Academy on Oct. 2. The Stars also lost to Indianola Academy on Sept. 18.
Humphreys Academy (7-2) at Hebron Christian (3-6)
Hebron Christian rounds out the regular season at home against Humphreys Academy on Friday.
The Eagles are coming off their road win at Columbus Christian Academy to take on Humphreys, which started 6-0 before losing two of its next three games to Manchester Academy and Delta Streets Academy.
Hebron is currently the No. 11 seed in Class 2A and is likely to play on the road in the first round of the playoffs.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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