Marc Qualls lowers his shoulder to gain extra yardage against Newton. (Brent Maze/The Appeal)
After a 1-9 season last year, Lake coach Tate Hanna has had a huge turnaround season with the Hornets.
The Hornets went 8-2 in the regular season and finished in a three-way tie for the Division 4-2A championship with Scott Central and Philadelphia. Included in those eight wins was an upset of previously undefeated and top-ranked Philadelphia two weeks ago.
But a 26-0 loss to Scott Central moved Lake to third in a tiebreaker situation. Lake’s reward for an 8-2 season is a trip north to defending 2A state champion Calhoun City.
The Wildcats are 8-2 on the year and finished in second in Division 2-2A after a 31-20 loss to Winona snapped a long division winning streak and put them in second.
“It’s always going to be a challenge any time you play the defending state champions,” Hanna said. “Everybody up there thinks they are the No. 1 team in the state. Calhoun has always ben known for being very physical and well coached. Their skill guys are good and the quarterback does a good job running the offense.”
The Wildcats are led by a pair of 1,000-yard rushers as Keshun Parker has rushed for 1,036 yards on 124 carries with 18 touchdowns. Treshun Parker has rushed for 1,023 yards on 91 carries and 11 touchdowns. Quarterback JoJo Gray has rushed for 588 yards on 98 carries and has thrown for 732 yards on 47-of-68 passing for nine touchdowns.
“We are steadily getting back guys off injuries,” Hanna said. “Defense has been our strong point all year and will have to step up this week. The offense has stepped up in the last couple of weeks. After the loss to Scott Central, we challenged out kids and they have stepped up the last two weeks.”
Newton's Tre Hillie knifes his way through the Lake defense for big yardage on Newton's first drive against Lake. (Brent Maze/The Appeal)
Newton (6-4) at Winona (7-3)
After losing to Lake last week, Newton is the No. 4 seed in Division 4-2A and will go north to Winona, the Division 2-2A champion.
Winona finished the regular season with a 7-3 record and overcame a 1-2 start on the season with losses to Choctaw County and Nanih Waiya. Winona then lost the division opener to Leflore County 56-42 but won the division with three straight win over Eupora (35-18), Calhoun City (31-20) and East Webster (40-17).
“They run a lot of power and counter plays on offense, lots of RPO stuff, bubble screens and that kind of stuff,” Newton coach Ryan Smith said. “Their offensive line is pretty good. They are good but we match up better with them than we would have Calhoun City. And that’s what we told the kids after the game. The kids are still excited. They knew we fought hard and Lake just make one more play than we did.”
The Tigers enter the playoffs with a 6-4 record and have lost four of the last five after a 5-0 start.
