There seems to be no stopping West Point football right now as the Green Wave (9-2) won a ninth straight game last Friday, blowing out Holmes County Central in the first round of the MHSAA Class 5A playoffs.

The 55-14 margin of victory was the second-highest of the season for West Point and its second-highest points total in a game this year, but the road immediately gets tougher this Friday.

This high-powered offense will go up against one of the best defenses in 5A, Neshoba Central (8-3), a team that’s allowed just 13.9 points a game in 2022.

“At this point in the year, it’s all about the small things, doing the little things right,” West Point head coach Chris Chambless said. “You can’t ever forget that, and that’s what we focus on each day.”

Neshoba Central comes off an impressive 27-2 win over Columbus in the first round and has done well at preventing sustained drives and scoring overall.

West Point, while being one of the best offenses in the state, is just as good of a team defensively and looks to cause fits to the Rockets. 

The records only tell one story because West Point is going to waste no time to establish itself on Friday, looking to suck the air out of Neshoba Central early.

Starkville (9-3) at Clinton (7-4), MHSAA Class 6A playoffs, second round

Starkville had a tough draw in the first round of the MHSAA Class 6A playoffs, taking on 10-0 Southaven on the road.

After a three-game winning streak to get into the playoffs, this seemed like a cruel reward, but the Yellow Jackets were unfazed by their opponent, coming in and steamrolling the Chargers, 38-12.

Home field advantage might not be in favor of Starkville for a second consecutive week in the playoffs, but momentum certainly is as the Yellow Jackets face Clinton on Friday night.

“Sometimes, being on the road is a good thing,” Starkville head coach Chris Jones said. “It gives you a chance to bond with your teammates, being on those long rides together, eating meals together.”

Team bonds have seemed to grow stronger as momentum has been building for Starkville (9-3) in these last four weeks, punctuated by last Friday’s first-round win.

Clinton (7-4) is an opponent the Yellow Jackets know well, having played the Arrows on Sept. 30 on the road, losing 35-28.

However, Friday night is a different day and a new opportunity for Starkville to make a statement and make moves in the postseason picture.

West Lowndes (8-3) at Bay Springs (11-1), MHSAA Class 1A playoffs, second round

A first round playoff game is exactly what West Lowndes needed and one that was well deserved after an impressive regular season.

That impressive play continued in the first round with a 46-20 win over Lumberton, but like last year, if the Panthers want a taste at a state championship, they’ll have to go through the champs in Bay Springs on Friday.

“We’re getting the guys to believe in what we’re trying to do,” West Lowndes head coach Anthony King said. “Bay Springs are the defending champions. They beat us last year, beat us at our place. Our guys are talking about it, going back to get revenge.

“If we go down and play smart, do the things that we’re coached to do, we’re going to be alright.”

It’s going to be a battle of two high-octane offenses, beginning with Bay Springs, which averages over 45 points a game, winning its last two games by a combined score of 114-0.

West Lowndes averaged over 34.4 points a game offensively this season while giving up 21.7 points defensively.

The Panthers won’t get many chances against Bay Springs, but when they do, they need to capitalize on them to give themselves a shot against an incredibly tough opponent.

Kossuth (10-2) at Noxubee County (8-4), MHSAA Class 3A quarterfinal

Noxubee County took care of business at home in the first round and then doubled down on that on the road against Independence last Friday, a 36-8 victory.

That led the Tigers back home to Macon for a MHSAA Class 3A quarterfinal matchup against Kossuth, a team Noxubee County will be playing for the first time ever.

None of this has diminished the excitement from the program right now as they look to defend home turf in style.

“We got the opportunity to host at home, we kept our season going,” Noxubee County head coach Teddy Young said. “To play a good Independence team and come out with a victory on the road, it was very big.”

The quarterfinals bring with it the best 3A teams in the state, and the Tigers are getting a big taste of that in Kossuth, a team currently riding a nine-game winning streak that has outscored opponents 83-14 in the playoffs.

Scoring is in the DNA of both teams, with Kossuth having put up 40-plus points in six of its last nine games and Noxubee County scoring 35.8 points a game this season.

A shootout is very much likely Friday, so don’t be surprised if it comes down to whoever has possession in the final minutes of regulation.