Crucial late-season showdowns with district titles on the line highlight the schedule this week, with other teams scrambling to get into the postseason.
The big one is in Class 4A, Region 1, where Caledonia heads north to battle Itawamba Agricultural in a game featuring teams with identical 3-0 region records. Meanwhile, Oak Hill Academy can forge a tie atop MAIS Class 4A, District 1 with a win over Marshall Academy, and West Lowndes can all but wrap up the Class 1A-3 crown by beating Ethel.
Meanwhile, West Point and Starkville Academy have what look on paper to be relatively easy tasks, while Columbus and New Hope need wins to be factors in Class 5A-1 going into the final weeks.
Columbus (3-5, 2-2 MHSAA 5A-1) at Saltillo (2-6, 1-3): Saltillo snapped a three-game losing streak last week with a 27-24 win over Greenville, but the Falcons are not the Hornets. The Falcons, hardly an offensive powerhouse, have scored almost twice as many points as the Hornets, and they have to be salivating at the thought of attacking a Tigers’ defense that is allowing 40 points per game. But defense is the Falcons’ calling card, and against a Saltillo team that is scoring less than 20 points per game they should be able to help out their offense in this one.
Pillow Academy (5-4, 2-2 MAIS 5A-1) at Heritage Academy (9-1, 4-0): The biggest question mark here is how the Patriots will respond after their first loss of the season, 35-28 to Leake Academy. With a chance to finish district play undefeated, figure on them to respond quite well. Historically, the Mustangs have been tough on the Patriots, owning a 20-9 all-time record in the series. But the Patriots have won four of the past five, and the only win the Mustangs have had in the past month came against Washington School (1-8).
Lake Cormorant (4-4, 2-2 NHSAA 5A-1) at New Hope (3-3, 1-3): The big question here: Will the losing team score? All six of New Hope’s games have been shutouts: wins over Shannon (34-0), Itawamba Agricultural (24-0) and Greenville (38-0) and losses to Columbus (10-0), West Point (31-0) and Lafayette (51-0). By contrast, Lake Cormorant has had just one shutout, a 41-0 win over Greenville. The biggest hint at trouble in the schedule might be that the Gators put up 21 points against West Point, the most the Green Wave have given up all season, while the Trojans could not score against them. The Gators have won the past four meetings in this series, scoring an average of 39.5 points per game. The Trojans still have a chance to make the playoffs, but they need a win here.
Caledonia (7-1, 3-0 MHSAA 4A-1) at Itawamba Agricultural (7-1, 3-0): It doesn’t get much bigger than this. Itawamba’s only loss came to a 5A team, and Caledonia is unbeaten on the field. The Cavaliers have ridden a prolific offense (46.4 points per game) to the longest winning streak in school history (seven games), while the Indians have won four consecutive games, scoring at least 50 points in three of them. In a weak region, these two teams are clearly at the top. But only one can win the district championship, something the Cavaliers have never done, while the Indians did it in 2019. Also, the Cavs are 0-6 all time against the Indians, including a 42-21 defeat last year.
Ethel (5-3, 3-1 MHSAA 1A-3) at West Lowndes (6-2, 5-0): These teams are almost equal defensively, with the Tigers allowing 84 points and the Panthers allowing 93. But there is a huge difference on offense, where West Lowndes has been wearing down foes to the tune of 32.4 points per game, while Ethel is managing just less than 19. The Tigers have won four of five, but the one loss was 36-6 to a French Camp Academy team that West Lowndes handled 26-3. Throw in that the Panthers have won five in a row and can smell their first district title in 29 years and it figures to be a rough night for the visitors.
West Point (5-2, 4-0 MHSAA 5A-1) at Greenville (1-6, 0-4): On paper, this is a huge mismatch. The Green Wave, No. 6 in the AP Mississippi Top 10, are 5-0 on the field, winning by an average score of 29-11. The Hornets have lost four games in a row by an average score of 34-8. The most recent loss was to a Saltillo team that went into the game 1-6. The teams have not met since 1994, so the Green Wave’s 3-0 series lead doesn’t mean much. But everything else also points to a relatively smooth contest as West Point closes in on a fifth district title in six years.
Noxubee County (4-4, 1-1 MHSAA 3A-4) at Nettleton (3-5, 1-1): These teams have never met, but the first meeting will go a long way toward deciding playoff seeding. The Tigers’ loss to Amory last week more or less locked up the district title for the Panthers, but Noxubee County and Nettleton are two of three 1-1 teams in Region 4, and finishing second to Amory means a lower-seeded foe and a home game in the opening round of the postseason. Nettleton still has to play Amory, so they figure to be fired up for Noxubee County’s visit.
Washington School (1-8, 0-4 MAIS 5A-1) at Starkville Academy (5-4, 2-2): It’s not technically an off week, but it’s hard to imagine a better matchup for a team that will have next week off before the postseason begins. The Vols had a three-game winning streak snapped last week by Bayou Academy, but the Generals have only won four games over the past three seasons. While the Generals own an 18-10 series lead, including a win in the 2011 state final, the Vols have won five in a row, including 49-20 last year in Greenville.
Marshall Academy (7-1, 3-0 MAIS 4A-1) at Oak Hill Academy (4-5, 2-1): The Raiders can tie for the district lead with a win here, and hold the head-to-head advantage, but the Patriots are a tall order. Marshall Academy had not allowed more than 8 points in a game this season until last week’s 21-18 win over Kirk Academy, a team that lost 24-13 to Oak Hill three weeks earlier. “They are big,” said Raiders coach Bill Rosenthal, whose team has lost to the Patriots the past two years. “Defense is really good. Offensively, they try to run down hill with all the size they have.” This game marks the regular season finale for both teams.
North Sunflower Academy (6-3, 3-2 MAIS 2A-1) at Columbus Christian Academy (2-6, 0-5): Just two years removed from a district title, the Rams have one last chance to avoid a winless district campaign. And that last chance comes against a team scoring 50 points per game. The Rams are on a four-game skid, allowing 72, 52, 40 and 46 points in those games. Those numbers just don’t add up to a win, so the Rams will have to play above their heads to pull off this one. These teams have met just twice and not since 2008.
Success Unlimited Academy (Ala.) (2-4) at Victory Christian Academy (1-5): It’s been a month since either of these teams tasted victory, and VCA’s one win came against a team — New Life Christian — that Success Unlimited also defeated. The other win for the Mustangs? That was 50-30 over Jacksonville Christian in the opener, the same JCA team that rolled past the Eagles 56-32 just last week.
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