Pike County boasts the center of football interest for southwestMississippi. The Southwest Bears of Summit are in the MississippiAssociation of Community/Junior Colleges state championship gameSaturday at Hinds in Raymond and the McComb Tigers are playing atColumbia in the Class 4A state quarterfinals.

It has been another successful year for Coach Ken Edenfield andthe Southwest Bears. Fresh from a 46-14 playoff win over Itawambaat Fulton, they carry a 9-2 record into the rematch with Hinds.Kickoff is 1 p.m., at Renfroe Stadium.

Obviously, the Bears are looking for revenge. Hinds (10-1)embarrassed the Bears 28-9 in the regular season finale at Summit’sHurst Stadium. Southwest was intercepted four times and lost twofumbles.

Edenfield has done a commendable job at Southwest. He replacedSteve Campbell two years ago when Campbell took the head job atDelta State University. Campbell has the Statesmen in the NCAADivision II playoffs Saturday at Cleveland, when they host ValdostaState.

Certainly, the MACJC’s best team in not in the state playoffs.Northwest (10-0) scorched its opponents, setting all kinds ofoffensive records. Unfortunately for the Rangers, they were placedon probation for starting preseason practice three days early. Theywere banned from postseason play and from the NJCAA’s nationalpoll.

For the Rangers, their only solace was pounding opponents intothe turf each week. Northwest coach Bobby Franklin boasted one ofhis best teams and they were ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA’s preseasonpoll before the infractions were discovered.

At McComb, Coach Lee Bramlett’s Tigers are one of the favoritesin the Class 4A state playoffs. They are solid in all phases of thegame. There is no superstar quarterback or All-American runningback on the squad. You could describe them as a bruising,hard-working blue collar team that goes out each Friday night andtakes care of business.

McComb (10-1) suffered its only loss to Warren Central duringthe regular season. A Tiger fumble and interception returned fortouchdowns were decisive in the loss. The Tigers applied a 40-8whipping to Division 6-4A runner-up Brookhaven in what wasconsidered the division title game on King Field.

The Tigers thumped D”Iberville 38-7 in last Friday’s openinground while Columbia (10-1) outscored Mendenhall 31-27.

In the other South 4A playoff game, Laurel (12-0) is at Gautier(9-2). Barring a major upset, McComb and Laurel would lock up nextFriday night at McComb’s C.C. Moore Stadium to settle the Southstate title.

In North 4A, Louisville (11-1) is at Clarksdale (10-1) andFlorence (11-1) is at Cleveland (11-1). In Class 3A, WilkinsonCounty is the only other team from southwest Mississippi stillalive in the playoffs and the Wildcats (9-1) fact a toughassignment. They must defeat Magee (10-2) on the Trojans’ home turftomorrow night.

Meanwhile, Professor Hoopla, B.S., is dusting off his deer rifleand looking forward to Saturday’s opening day. If Hoopla picks thewinners of football games like his shoots, the deer are safe untilnext season. Hoopla predicted the winners of 15 games and got 11right last week.

Here’s a preview of this weekend’s games.

McComb at Columbia: Tigers flex their muscles on defense andlook forward to next week. McComb 21-10.

Southwest at Hinds: All signs point to an Eagle victory. Thatmeans the Bears can author an upset. Southwest 20-14.

Ole Miss at Georgia: Wounded Rebels are roughed up between thehedges. Georgia 28-12.

Arkansas at Mississippi State: Bulldogs appear to be on a rollas they tune up for the Egg Bowl. State 38-10.

Alcorn State at Jackson State: Where’s the defense? Alcorndoesn’t have one and the Tigers have enough for a blowout. JacksonState 48-6.

Southern Miss at Cincinnati: Golden Eagles can’t afford to getice on their offense when they face the Bearcats. Southern Miss21-10.

Valdosta State at Delta State: Playing a team for a second timein one season can be extremely dangerous. Look for the Statesmen toeke out a win. Delta State 27-21.