Three area football teams will face undefeated teams in the playoffs this week.
Union will host Tylertown while Newton County will travel to North Pike and Lake will travel to Scott Central. Newton will travel to Pisgah while Sebastopol will host Lumberton.
Here’s a look at this week’s games:
Lake at Scott Central
After blowing out Stringer the past two weeks, Lake will get their shot at revenge as they travel to rival Scott Central this week.
The Rebels are 11-0 on the season and beat Amite County 54-8 last week. The Rebels rolled through the first three weeks of district play with wins over Pelahatchie (52-0), Pisgah (54-0) and Puckett (51-0). The Rebels ended out the regular season with a hard-fought 33-20 win over Velma Jackson. In the regular season, Scott Central beat Lake 52-6.
“We had a bunch of players hurt when we played them the first time,” Lake coach Tate Hanna said. “We had three starters out on each side of the ball and weren’t playing good ball at that time. I think we have gotten a lot better since them. I feel good about Friday night and I think we are excited and will are ready to play. Whatever happens, I think our kids will give their all and leave it all out there on the field.”
Tylertown at Union
The Union defense, which coach Jordan Wren has said is the strength of his team, will be tested this week as the Yellowjackets host undefeated Tylertown on Friday night I the second round of the Class 3A playoffs.
The Chiefs are 11-0 on the season and are coming off a 44-6 win over Wesson in the first round of the playoffs. The Chiefs did not allow a point in district play, beating Franklin County (58-0), Wilkinson County (56-0), Jefferson County (45-0) and Port Gibson (45-0). The Chiefs are led by wide receiver Jeremiah Dillion, who is committed to Ole Miss.
“They are undefeated and they have two SEC wide receivers that can run,” Union coach Jordan Wren said. “They are going to be tough but thank God, it’s at home. I think Union will come out and support us and we will have a big crowd and it will be a good playoff atmosphere. They like to play in space and I think it will be an interesting matchup. I don’t think they will like what we do up front.”
Newton County at North Pike
The Cougar find themselves in a familiar position as they make the long road trip to North Pike.
The Jaguars are undefeated on the season and are coming off a 37-27 win over Sumrall last week. Last year, North Pike beat unbeaten Newton County 31-28 in the second round of the playoffs.
“They are still athletic and have the same quarterback and skill people returning,” Newton County coach Bobby Bass said. “It’s hard to say how good they are. I don’t know if they are as good as they were last year or not. They run a lot of formations and we have to get lined up right and see what they do out of those formations.”
Newton at Pisgah
The Tigers will try to make it two in a row as they travel to Pisgah on Friday night to take on the Dragons.
Pisgah is 4-7 on the season and is coming off a 31-20 win over Loyd Star last week in the first round of the playoffs.
They are a team that all year long has been trying to find their identity,” Newton coach Zach Grady said. “I thought they found it in the playoffs. They are lining up and running straight at you and are looking pretty good doing it. They run it really well. They are loading up and coming right at you. We are going to have to stop the run and score enough points that we can get the clock against them.”
Lumberton at Sebastopol
The Bobcats earned a home playoff game with a win last week over Hamilton.
Their reward is defending 1A state champion Lumberton, who is 5-5 on the season after going 12-1 last year. The Panthers lost three of their last four games to end the regular season.
“They are to even close to where they were last year,” Sebastopol coach Nicky Mooney said. “We will have to play well but it’s a very winnable game. They are kind of hard to game plan for because they have so many kids out and they do something different every week. I’m sure they will have them all back this week. But it’s still a game we are capable of winning. They are athletic and we will have to handle that and not give them any big plays. I feel good about our chances right now with the way we are playing.”
