The prep football season is rapidly approaching region or district play.
The Alabama High School Activities Association actually kicked off region play last week. For the Mississippi High School Activities Association, Class 1A schools are doing the same this week.
Columbus and Starkville in Class 6A, as well as New Hope and West Point in Class 5A will do the same in two weeks. The other three classes will then follow.
So now with one-fourth of the regular season in the books, let’s make some evaluations around the area:
Columbus (2-1): Coach Randal Montgomery’s second set of Falcons have two impressive wins (Kemper County and New Hope) and a hard-fought loss (Noxubee County).
If you consider Columbus played most of the Noxubee County game without its leading rusher (Kendre Conner) and still overcame six turnovers to be down by 10 points in the final minutes, that is quite an accomplishment.
The Columbus running game with Conner, Kylin Hill and quarterback C.J. Gholar is good as advertised. We are still waiting to see the rumored improvement by Gholar and the passing game.
That being side Columbus has both an offensive line and defense line which could compete with the state’s best. The special teams are not exceptional but certainly adequate.
The line and the trio of running backs will give Columbus a shot most nights. However, the improved passing game will need to show itself if this squad wants to play well into November.
Starkville (2-1): Coach Ricky Woods is settling in nicely in his first season with the Yellow Jackets.
Starkville won its second straight Friday night with a 16-0 win at West Point. The biggest accomplishment in this contest was West Point denied Starkville star wide receiver A.J. Brown the ball. Still, the Yellow Jackets found enough ways to make the plays to win the game.
Brown had 30 catches combined in a season-opening loss to Noxubee County and a home win over Oxford. He is the go-to man for first-year starter at quarterback Montario Montgomery. However, Starkville needed other answers Friday and found them.
Avery Brown is picking up nicely where Matt Fuller and Jacquez Horsley left off last year in the rushing game. Despite a few minor snags against Noxubee County, the Starkville defense is stout. The Yellow Jackets have not allowed a point in their last seven quarters.
For Starkville, long-range success will be tied to the continued growth of Montgomery at quarterback. Keeping everybody healthy on defense is also the key.
Clinton is loaded despite a 1-2 start. Madison Central has turned heads with a 3-0 start. Those two — along with Starkville — should produce quite a race in Class 6A, Region 2 play.
West Point (1-1): Despite the recent loss to Starkville, there should still be plenty of optimism in the West Point camp.
The Green Wave will be counting on a ton of sophomores, including their key play-makers in the backfield. With young talent, there will be good days and bad days. Certainly four quarters of competing against Starkville will help this young squad grow up.
Lineman Scott Lashley has taken the onus of the leadership role. Marcus Murphy is growing up fast in the quarterback department. However, the West Point game plan remains as it always has — run first, run second and run third.
On the defensive side of the ball, senior William Ivy is leading the way. Senior Jeffrey Drake is doing his part in forcing turnovers.
Honestly, West Point is a year away from being a legitimate Class 5A state championship contender. However, that does not mean they can’t make a surprise run this season.
Oxford remains the biggest challenge Class 5A, Region 1 play. However, a less-talented West Point team fought Oxford hard in a regular-season defeat and a postseason defeat.
West Point will continue to learn this week with Columbus and next week with Noxubee County. This means, West Point will have faced the three best defensive lines in the area on consecutive Fridays.
Oh yes, that run of games is followed up by the region opener at Oxford, too.
New Hope (0-3): New Hope has already matched last season’s loss total three weeks into the season.
Second-year coach Kris Pickle knew the team would be rebuilding. However, he likes the talent level of the team.
New Hope now needs more consistency. The offense struggled in a loss to Columbus. The defense struggled in a loss to Aberdeen. The Trojans are sound in most areas. However, the size on both the offensive and defensives lines has to remain a concern.
Thomas Stevens is playing well in his first season at quarterback. However, New Hope will need to find some answers in the running game. C.J. Clay had a 100-yard rushing game in the opener. However, the Trojans were held to minus-20 yards rushing against Columbus. Stevens averaged around 50 yards per punt Friday night. New Hope also plays fundamentally sound, with few turnovers and few penalties.
Since New Hope won’t be growing into a much larger team on the lines, the Trojans will need to be more finesse.
After this week’s open date, the team plays host to undefeated Caledonia before starting the rigors of Class 5A, Region 1 play.
Noxubee County (2-1): After season-opening wins over Starkville and Columbus, Noxubee County saw its two-season, 13-game win streak snapped by Aledo (Texas).
One should not worry too long or hard about the Tigers. With the exception of a battle with Caledonia, another cakewalk through Class 4A, Region 4 plays in entirely possible. Noxubee County has size, speed and athleticism.
The Starkville win was monumental because it was a revenge game. The Columbus win was nice because Noxubee County did not play to its offensive potential. Actually through three weeks, we have not seen the real true Noxubee County offense.
That time is coming. When the offense is combined with defensive superstar Jeffery Simmons roaming your backfield, it can make for a really long night.
Scott Walters is a sports writer for The Dispatch. You can email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @dispatchscott.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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