The Eagles will try to get their first win win of the football season as Eupora hosts French Camp on Friday night. The Panthers are 0-2 on the year with a pair of losses to MAIS schools. The Panthers lost 34-24 to Winona Christian and 23-0 to Starkville Academy.
“Watching them on film, they have some good skill players,” said Eupora head coach Stephen Edwards. “They will do a good job and are sound on dense. We will have our hands full with them. You can tell then know what to do up front and have good skill people.”
Edwards said the Eagles need to bounce back this week. “We will play at home and need the support from the community this week,” Edwards said. “We can’t feel sorry for ourselves and bounce back and come together as a team. We have to realize we have played two really good football teams. I told the kids, you are going to lose in life. It’s about how you handle it and how you bounce back from that.”
— Robbie Robertson
EW READY TO RENEW VARDAMAN RIVALRY
The East Webster football team will be at home this week as tit hosts Class 1A Vardaman. The Rams are 0-2 on the year with a 34-21 loss to Myrtle and a 34-0 loss to Bruce.
“East Webster and Vardaman have been big rivals for a long time around here,” said EWHS head coach Ron Price said. “They contacted us last year and wanted to get back on the schedule. It’s a very close game for us and an opportunity to renew that rivalry. Our kids will be excited to play them. This week, we have to focus on East Webster and continue to get better. I saw a big improvement from week 1 to week 2. Hopefully, we will make the improvements we need in week 3. We are just excited to have a chance to play Vardaman and get the rivalry going again.”
— Robbie Robertson
METRO JACKSON AREA DOMINATES TOP 10
The top three teams in Mississippi Gridiron’s Top 10 are very familiar with each other. Madison Central, who beat Brandon 28-14 last week, is at the top of the rankings followed by 2-0 Pearl and 1-1 Brandon.
Madison Central visits Northwest Rankin on Friday, while Pearl hosts Ridgeland and Brandon heads to Clinton. The rest of the top 10 are Starkville, South Paola, Petal, Picayune, Lafayette County, Oak Grove ,and Oxford.
Columbia is at the top of the Little 10, which is reserved for teams Class 3A or smaller. Columbia is followed by Taylorsville, Charleston, Noxubee County, Madison-Ridgeland Academy, Philadelphia, Seminary, Heritage Academy, Water Valley, and Houston.
Smithville leads Class 1A, followed by Noxapater, Lumberton, Nanih Waiya and Hollandale Simmons. Columbia is on top of 3A, followed by Noxubee County, Seminary, Water Valley and Houston.
— Austin Bishop
NEW STREAKER ON TAP
With West Point losing on Friday to Louisville 38-28, Greenville St. Joseph now has the state's longest active winning streak at 13 games. The Irish (2-0) are the two-time defending MAIS Class AA state champion and are now in Class 3A. The last loss for Greenville St. Joe was Week 2 of last year against Indianola Academy.
This is the second week in a row that the team with the state's longest active winning streak was snapped after West Point defeated Horn Lake 34-6 in Week 1. The defending 6A state champion Eagles had a 15-game winning streak.
— Brandon Shields
TWO 2-2A TEAMS REMAIN UNDEFEATED
Two of the five Region 2-2A football teams have yet to lose headed into the third week of the Season. East Webster, 2-0, plays host to winless Vardaman on Friday night, while J.z. George (2-0) entertains West Bolivar. The biggest surprise so far are the Jaguars of JZG, who went 0-11 last year, but have found some success early in the 2019 season.
Other games on tap for the region this week have Calhoun City hosting Choctaw County, Eupora hosting French Camp and Bruce traveling to North Pontotoc.
Last week’s games saw J.Z. George roll past Hamilton 36-20, East Webster beat Shaw 23-12, Eupora fall to 1A power Noxapater 32-15, Calhoun City lost to Houston 32-7 and Bruce defeat Vardaman 34-0.
— Austin Bishop
