Area high school football fans won’t have much to choose from this week as four of five area schools will be playing on the road.
Only Sebastopol will be at home this week as they host Eupora in a key division contest. Meanwhile, Newton County Academy will be at Christian Collegiate in Gulfport, Lake will be at Morton, Union will be at J.Z. George and Newton will be at Bay Springs. Newton County is off this week.
NCA at Christian Collegiate
The Generals will make the long road trip to Gulfport as they take on Christian Collegiate.
The Bulldogs are 3-4 on the season with wins over Pine Belt (44-0), Discovery Christian (38-28) and Park Place (31-28). They have losses to Sylva Bay (36-12), Wilkinson County Christian (34-22), Ben’s Ford (30-6) and Prentiss Christian (22-14).
“It has developed into a good rivalry game,” NCA coach Stevie Nelson said. “I know they may not be as good as they have been but they have some guys who can scoot. We will have to pick up our play because the playoffs are looming in a couple of weeks. We started the season with a group of kids who hadn’t played a lot of football but have now played nine game and are playing with a lot more confidence.”
Last year, NCA beat Christian Collegiate twice, winning 33-30 in the regular season and 52-56 in the Class 2A semifinals.
Lake at Morton
The Hornets will step out of division play as they take on Scott County rival Morton. The game will be played on Friday instead of Thursday as originally scheduled.
The Panthers are 4-3 on the season with wins over Scott Central (33-26), Leake Central (50-26), Yahoo County (50-48) and Pelahatchie (52-0). They have losses to Wayne County (45-28), Quitman (56-14) and Mendenhall (32-29).
“They have two Division I receivers and two more that will play juco ball if they want,” Lake coach Tate Hanna said. “They are very athletic and will give us fits on the back end. Coach Jones does a great job of getting his playmakers the ball. We will have to work hard on the back half this week. And we are kind of banged up and may have to sit some kids.”
Last year, Lake won 43-27.
Eupora at Sebastopol
The Bobcats will try to bounce back from one of the worse losses of the Keith Brown era as they host Eupora in a key division contest.
The Eagles are 4-3 on the season and have wins over French Camp (40-6), Okolona (24-14), Noxapater (28-22) and J.Z. George (37-12). They have losses to East Webster (35-6), Water Valley (48-46) and Union (35-28).
“Eupora will be another tough test for us,” Brown said. “They have a really good quarterback who can really run. They use him a lot like we use McDougle. The bottom line is we have to tackle better this week. If we tackle like we did last week, it will be a long night for us.”
Last year, Sebastopol won 42-21.
Union at J.Z. George
Union will hit the road this week as they make the long road trip to J.Z. George in North Carrollton.
The Jaguars are 2-5 on the season with wins over Coffeeville (22-6) and Riverside (36-14). They have losses to Ethel (28-22), Water Valley (42-6), West Bolivar (14-0), Philadelphia (44-14) and Eupora (37-12).
“It looks they are improving every week,” Union coach Jordan Wren said. “You can tell they are young. I think they have one senior that playing on offense and defense. They are 2-5 and have the same record as we do so we will have to go play. It’s a district game and we have to win if we are going to win a district championship.”
Last year, Union cruised to a 54-14 win.
Newton at Bay Springs
The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Tigers as they head down Miss. Highway 15 to Bay Springs.
The Bulldogs are 6-2 on the season and have reeled off six straight wins. After opening with losses to Raleigh (22-14) and Taylorsville (32-14), they have wins over Heidelberg (16-8), Philadelphia (28-26), Stringer (6-0), Choctaw Central (26-10), Scott Central (20-7) and Clarkdale (44-12).
Newton County is off
The Cougars will enjoy an off week as they prepare for the final two regular season games and the playoffs.
After the off week, County will play at Leake Central on Oct. 25 and then host West Lauderdale on Thursday, Oct. 31.
