The regular season is coming to a close this week and several teams still have playoff spots on the line.
In Lake, the Hornets will take on rival Scott Central with a chance at a district championship on the line.
Sebastopol will play a win-or-go-home contest on the road at Ethel.
All of this week’s games are on Thursday night.
Scott Central at Lake
After a slow start to the season, the Lake Hornets have now won four straight games.
They will now host rival Scott Central on Thursday with the district 5-2A championship on the line. Scott Central is 2-7 on the season and 2-1 in district play, coming off a 17-16 loss to Pelahatchie last week. The Rebels opened the season with five straight losses, falling to Northeast Lauderdale (17-12), Union (26-13), Morton (14-3), Newton County (21-13) and Forest (14-7). They have wins over Puckett (49-0) and Newton (42-6).
“Scott Central went for the win and didn’t get it,” Hanna said. “Scott Central is our biggest rival. If we don’t win, it would be a three-way tie and come down to a point differential. We have to have a great week of practice. I expect it to be a good game with a big crowd. Scott is a lot better than their record and has played a tough schedule.”
Currently, Lake is 3-0 in district play while Scott Central is 2-1 and Pelahatchie are both 2-1. Lake could lose by eight or less and still be the top seed but a loss by16 or more points and the Hornets could fall to the three seed.
Last year, Scott Central won 37-13.
Sebastopol at Ethel
The Bobcats will hit the road for the regular-season finale as they take on Ethel on Thursday night.
The Tigers are 6-3 on the season and 2-2 in District 5-1A play while the Bobcats are 3-6 overall and 1-3 in district play.
Brown said the Bobcats are still in the playoff hunt and if they win by more than five points, they will make the playoffs.
“It all comes down to this,” Sebastopol coach Keith Brown said. “The playoffs start for us this week. It’s win or go home. If we lose, we are out but we need to win by five points to make the playoffs. If we win by more than eight points, we are the three seed. It’s going to be a challenge. Ethel is going to be well coached and is going to play hard. They are good at what they do and are fundamentally sound. I think we match up well. They are big up front and the big question is can we match their physicality. And it’s a short week; we have to make every day count.”
Richton at Newton
The Tigers will host senior night on Thursday as they host Richton in a non-district contest.
The Rebels are 4-5 on the season with wins over West Lincoln (34-0), Amite County (34-32), St. Patrick (44-28) and Resurrection Catholic (28-7). Their losses are to Salem (30-12), South Choctaw Academy (36-14), Lumberton (19-6), Stringer (34-30) and Taylorsville (38-12).
“They are better than they were last year,” Newton coach Jeffrey Crosby said. “They throw it a little bit and run a lot of ozone. I think we will be able to compete with them.”
Union at Pisgah
The Yellowjackets will try to cap off a perfect regular season as they travel to Pisgah on Thursday.
Pisgah is 5-4 overall and 1-2 in district 5-3A play. Union has already wrapped up the district championship.
“They are going to line it up and run it right at us,” Union coach Jordan Wren said. “We have to win the line of scrimmage and win first down. We have to keep them third and long or third and medium and we have to win third down. We have to stay on schedule on offense and stay away from penalties. We have to take advantage of the deep ball when they give us the opportunity.”
Newton County at SE Lauderdale
The Cougars will hit the road this week to finish out the regular season on Thursday at Southeast Lauderdale.
The Tigers are 3-6 on the season with recent losses to Union (43-6) and Quitman (35-0).
“I think the biggest thing for us is to bounce back and have a good week of practice and not have a letdown this week,” County coach Bobby Bass said. “Last week was heartbreaking because you want to win the district. But hopefully you learn from that and move on. Southeast has good athletes and will give us some problems.”
