A pair of struggling teams meet this week at E.L. Morgan field as the Newton Tigers host the Lake Hornets.
Newton is 1-4 on the season and coming off a 46-16 loss to Leake County while Lake is 2-3 and coming off a 35-22 loss to Union.
Lake coach Tate Hanna said the young Newton team worries him.
“I have watched their last two films and they are much improved,” Hanna said. “I think they have done a great job with their kids. They always play us really hard because it’s just right down the road. We need to have a good week of practice and correct Lake.”
The Tigers have lost three straight since beating Mount Olive in week two. Second-year coach Jeffrey Crosby said the Tigers know what is headed their way.
“They are going to run the ball well, that’s who they are,” Crosby said. “Defensively, they will be solid. We just have to string everything together and carry it over to Friday. If we can put together a complete game, we can come away with a win.”
Last year, Lake won 36-8.
Sebastopol at Noxapater
Both teams will open division play this week in an early matchup that will likely have playoff implications.
Noxapater is 3-2 on the season with wins over Southeast Lauderdale (28-0), Puckett (27-0) and Enterprise-Lincoln (36-14). They have losses to Hamilton (39-38) and Eupora (14-12).
“They are really athletic and in a similar situation to us,” Sebastopol coach Keith Brown said. “Their quarterback got hurt and they have been rotating kids, putting their better athletes back there. We just have to be able to gang tackle and run to the football. They get after it on defense as well. We will have our hands full.”
Newton County at Northeast Lauderdale
The Cougars will try to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Mize as they travel to Northeast Lauderdale.
the Trojans are 2-2 on the season with wins over Scott Central (17-12) and Southeast Lauderdale (20-0). They have losses to Forest (29-2) and Kemper County (38-21).
“We have lost two games for four points so we could very easily be 4-1 right now,” County coach Bobby Bass said. “I know they will be very athletic and will have some good skill players. We just need to continue to play hard and play our brand of football.”
Last year, Newton County beat Northeast 38-20.
Union at Quitman
The Yellowjackets will put their unbeaten record on the line this week as they travel to Quitman to open division play.
The Panthers are 2-3 on the season with wins over Kemper County (34-32 and Newton (44-6). They have losses to Heidelberg (48-7), South Jones (42-20) and Bay Springs (20-14).
“We open district play and this is the most important district game for us,” Union coach Jordan Wren said. “This could be for the district championship. They are big and fast in the box. They are just as athletic as you can be in high school. We will have to match their intensity in the box. They were a quality 4A team last year and had a running back that went to Alabama.”
NCA is off
The Generals take a much-needed bye week as they prepare for the stretch run of the season.
“Before the season, I was not really happy about having this week off in the middle of the season,” NCA coach Stevie Nelson said. “But now that it’s here, I’m really glad we are not playing this week. We are banged up and nicked up and these two weeks should really help us get healthy as we enter the stretch run of the season. The last weeks will determine if we are going to be district champions or not.”
NCA will return from the break and take on one-win Kemper Academy. They finish the regular season with rival Sylva-Bay and Ben’s Ford to determine the district championship. a
