West Point football has a point to prove during the 2022 season after coming oh so close to another state championship last season.
The Green Wave reached the state championship game against Picayune, losing 40-21, which snapped an 11-game winning streak. That all looks to change starting Friday night as they host Louisville.
“We hit the field every day with a purpose and our guys have responded to coaching this week well and they’ve worked really hard,” West Point head coach Chris Chambless said.
Their opponent for this season opener is one they know well. The two schools have played nearly 60 times in more than seven decades of football.
However, the Green Wave and Wildcats haven’t faced off since 2019, with Louisville snapping a four-game losing streak in the rivalry with a 38-28 win.
West Point has won nine of the past 11 meetings between the two schools, so the Green Wave will be looking to start off strong while Louisville will be looking to make a major season-opening statement.
Heritage Academy (1-0) at Jackson Prep (1-0)
The Lance Pogue era at Heritage Academy could not have started better last week as the Patriots made quick work of Lamar, winning 45-16.
Heading into Week 2, there’s plenty of confidence that can be found around this team as they head to Flowood to play one of the best teams in the state, Jackson Prep, on Friday.
“It’s a good win for us, getting off to a good start, but when you think of Jackson Prep historically, probably the premier football team in the state,” Pogue said. “It’s a fun week for us. On paper and online, they’re probably the predicted winner, but that’s the fun of the challenge.”
Prep, being a 6A school, has the distinct advantage of being that bigger classification school, meaning a great pool of kids to create a team from.
However, historically, Heritage has a winning record against Jackson Prep, including last season, when the Patriots defeated Prep, 39-21.
Heritage is looking to continue their hot start while Jackson Prep is looking for revenge after 2021, so Friday is going to be a competitive and exciting game from start to finish.
West Lowndes (0-0) at Biggersville (0-0)
West Lowndes ended a nearly 20-year district championship drought in 2021, winning the fourth district championship in program history.
The Panthers rode that success into the semifinals of the 2021 postseason before losing to Bay Springs, 44-6.
That 10-3 record last season and that semifinal appearance is on the minds of everyone within the program as they head into Friday’s season opener at Biggersville.
“We didn’t want to show too much during last week’s practice game, but we did find out that we are physical and we have talent,” West Lowndes head coach Anthony King said. “We just need to clean up a lot of stuff before that first game.”
Talk about being thrown right into the fire Week 1. Biggersville has had West Lowndes’s number recently, winning the last four meetings between the two schools, including two straight postseason wins.
Last season, the Panthers opened up their schedule with a 21-7 home loss at the hands of Biggersville, so on Friday, the focus is to get in the groove early and add one to the win column after Week 1.
Noxubee County (0-0) at Philadelphia (0-0)
Over the past few years, there’s been a rivalry renewed between Noxubee County and Philadelphia, two programs that faced off every year from 1949-1964 but not again until 2019.
Since 2019, the Tigers and Tornadoes have split a pair of matchups leading up to the third meeting of the 21st century between the programs on Friday.
“We have a lot of kids returning that played a lot last year,” Noxubee County head coach Teddy Young said. “We think our offensive and defensive lines can control the game and we have athletes on both sides of the ball. We feel good going into this matchup.”
Noxubee County had a successful 2021 campaign, going 7-4 but losing in the second round of the postseason.
For a program like the Panthers, however, one that’s won 14 district championships this millennium, they expect to get to that point.
The next step is winning a sixth state championship since 2008, and the journey begins against the Tornadoes.
Oak Hill Academy (0-1) at Benton Academy (0-1)
Oak Hill Academy football is coming off a tough season-opening loss to East Rankin Academy, a game that East Rankin controlled most of the way.
The Raiders look to flip the script and notch their first W of the season against Benton Academy, a program that’s given them fits in recent years.
“We did some really, really good things, but there were some things we did wrong,” Oak Hill head coach Bill Rosenthal said. “We have to cut down on penalties and not give up big plays.”
Overall, the Raiders played well in Week 1, racking up 340 yards of total offense. But the big plays Rosenthal mentioned that got Oak Hill behind the 8-ball, and the Raiders just weren’t able to keep pace toward the end.
Like Oak Hill, Benton is also looking for its first win of the season, coming off a 34-0 shutout loss at the hands of Sylva-Bay Academy.
They’ve had the Raiders’ number in recent years, winning in 2021 and 2020 by a combined score of 99-75. If the last two seasons are any indication of Friday night, it’s going to be a shootout in Benton.
Columbus Christian Academy (0-1) at Marvell Academy (Ark.) (0-1)
Columbus Christian had its hands full last week as the Rams played Christian Collegiate Academy in their season opener.
The Rams kept with Christian Collegiate early, trailing just 22-18 at halftime, but the second half was a completely different story as Columbus Christian was beaten 40-6.
Week 1 was a tough test, and Week 2 might be that much tougher playing an opponent in Marvell Academy that CCA has yet to beat in its history.
“The biggest thing we had to work on this week was tackling in the open field,” Columbus Christian head coach Jeremy Brock said. “We didn’t do that really well last week, and that’s the big thing that cost us against Christian Collegiate.”
The offense will be under a bigger microscope this week to see if the Rams can penetrate a tough Marvell defense, one that hasn’t allowed a point to Columbus Christian since 2019.
In four all-time meetings, the Rams have been outscored 144-20, so if anything, getting some points on the board early on Friday could put the pressure on Marvell.
Hebron Christian (0-1) at Humphreys Academy (1-0)
It was a rough start to the 2022 season for Hebron Christian, getting blown out by 50 points against Tunica Academy.
They’ll be once again given a tough task on the field as the Eagles travel to play Humphreys Academy on Friday, a team that has had Hebron Christian’s number in its past three all-time matchups.
“We’ve got history against them,” Hebron Christian head coach David Foster said. “Some time ago, we used to dominate them, but nowadays, they’ve been dominating us…They’re a different team. They’re going to be bigger than we are, so we’ve been preparing on how to stop them this week.”
If Hebron Christian is going to stop the Rebels, it’s going to take a lot to slow down a team that’s averaged well north of 30 points per game on offense the past three seasons.
Humphreys Academy also scored 42 points in its season opener, so it’s going to be a big ask on both sides of the ball for the Eagles to make Friday night a close one.
Unity Christian Academy (0-1) at Victory Christian Academy (0-0)
A new coaching change hopes to bring new success at Victory Christian Academy as Andrew Pace took over for longtime head coach Chris Hamm for the 2022 season.
Pace brings with him a very similar coaching style to Hamm, as he coached alongside him for a number of years, but a new flair at the same time as the Eagles begin their season on Friday, hosting Unity Christian Academy.
“Right now, we’re feeling really good about this game,” Pace said. “Being its the first game, you always question it since we’ve been practicing against each other up to this point, but I think our guys are ready and confident going into it.”
Unity Christian has a leg up on Victory Christian for Friday, that being the Soldiers have a game in hand. However, that game was a 50-38 season-opening loss to Arkansas Christian Academy.
Last season, the Eagles struggled to find footing in the Christian Football Association, going 1-6 while giving up just over 50 points a game to opponents.
Victory Christian looks to build upon its offense and make a statement in Week 1 against a team that has already shown it can put up points against anyone.
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