There are now a total of 11 unbeaten teams remaining combined in the MHSAA and MAIS.
There are no unbeaten teams in 6A with Madison Central losing to Starkville. Top-ranked Picayune and eighth-ranked West Jones are the other unbeaten teams in 5A.
Itawamba AHS, Greenwood and South Pike are the undefeated teams in 4A. Columbia is the only undefeated team in 3A. Northside is the only unbeaten team in 2A. No unbeatens in 1A after Sebastopol knocked off Resurrection 20-17 on Friday.
Teams undefeated in the MAIS are Heritage Academy, Riverfield (La.), Greenville St. Joseph and Manchester Academy.
— Brandon Shields
NW, NOXAPATER LEAD REGION 2-1A
With Noxapater’s 31-16 win over West Lowndes on Friday night, the top three spots of Region 2-1A is beginning to shake out. Nanih Waiya leads the way with a 5-0 mark, while Noxapater is 5-1 and West Lowndes is 4-2.
While the top two spots are pretty much locked up due to her-to-head results, the third and fourth playoff spots in the region are wide open. Smithville and Tupelo Christian are both 3-2, while Okolona is 2-3. Next is 1-4 French Camp, followed by 1-5 Hamilton and 0-5 Vardaman.
Nanih Waiya, ranked No. 1 in Class 1A by Mississippi Gridiron, No. 3-ranked Noxapater, and No. 4-ranked West Lowndes are all 7-2overall, while Smithville and Tupelo Christian are both 6-2.
— Austin Bishop
SLOW PITCH ALL STARS SATURDAY
The 34th Annual MAC All-Star Girls Slow Pitch Softball Games will be played on Saturday at Mack Fanning Field at Newton County High School in Decatur. Tickets for the games are $5 per person for general admission seating. The two-out-of-three series begins at Noon.
The North team will be coached by Eric Thornton of Columbus and Bryan League of Hamilton. The South squad will be guided by Jake Loper of Lake and Mike Armstrong of Northwest Rankin. The format for the 34th Annual All-Star MAC Slow Pitch games has been changed for the first time since 2014. The series has now been reduced to a best-of-three series between a North squad and a South team with players selected from all high school classifications.
— Special Reports
PICAYUNE TAKES TOP SPOT
The Maroon Tide of Picayune High School took advantage of Starkville’s 24-21 win over Madison Central last Friday night to climb to the top of Mississippi Gridiron’s overall Top 10 rankings.
Picayune, who plays host to Pearl River Central on Friday, jumped to the top thanks to a 64-0 win over Long Beach. Starkville is ranked No. 2, while West Point is third, Madison Central fourth and South Panola fifth.
Petal is ranked No. 6 followed by Oxford, West Jones, Brandon and Greenwood.
— Austin Bishop
CCHS-NOXUBEE SHOWDOWN SET
First place in Region 4-3A will be on the line Friday when Choctaw County hosts Noxubee County, which like CCHS, is 2-0 in region play. Noxubee County won the MHSAA Class 4A state championship two years ago, but dropped down to 3A this year due to MHSAA reclassfication.
“They're a good football team.” Said CCHS head coach Jeff Roberts. “They're athletic. Their quarterback (Marlon Windham) is their work horse on offense. He throws it a lot.
“Their defensive line is really good. They're very active.”
Windham has completed 124 of 234 passes for 1,625 yards and 11 touchdowns and has run for 616 yards and two TDs.
— Laurence Hilliard
CALHOUN CITY LEADS PACK
The Region 2-2A title is all but sewn up for Calhoun City, which is 3-0 in league play with wins over Eupora and East Webster — it’s closest challengers — already secured.
Eupora is currently second with a 2-1 mark, while East Webster is 1-1 and Bruce and J.Z. George are both 0-2. The top four teams qualify for the playoffs. Eupora is already guaranteed a spot, while one more win for East Webster will put the Wolverines in as well.
The game between Eupora and East Webster this week is essentially for a second seed in the MHSAA 2A Playoffs. The top two teams in each region will host first-round games.
— Austin Bishop
