Two teams hungry for victory collide Friday night on King Fieldwhen the Ole Brook Panthers host the McComb Tigers. Kickoff for theRegion 6-4A game is 7 p.m.

The ancient rivals are both winless in two games. Ole Brook iscoming off a 34-25 loss at Clinton. McComb is recovering from a49-7 home field loss to Madison Central.

Ole Brook head coach Tucker Peavey said McComb played betterthan the score indicated. The Tigers lost 4 fumbles and wereintercepted once. The Jaguars led 28-0 at halftime and scored 3third-quarter touchdowns.

“McComb has played two real good football teams,” said Peavey.”They were handling Madison Central but then they got a couple ofbig plays in the second quarter which broke the game open.”

Peavey said the Tigers “are real fast on defense. There are alot of people around the ball. Their front guys are in a lot ofplays and they are really good at linebacker.”

Offensively, the Tigers are presenting a different look undernew head coach Randy Martin. They use a double-wing formation mostof the time.

“They run a tight formation, with two tight ends and two wingsand a lot of misdirection,” said Peavey. “They are veryball-controlled. The formation is similar to a double-wing.”

The Tigers lost their Sept. 26 season opener 26-12 to archrivalSouth Pike and then missed the next two Friday night games becauseof Hurricane Katrina’s damage. Ole Brook kicked off its season witha 6-0 loss at Franklin County in Meadville before taking a 2-weekbreak. McComb will be Brookhaven’s first home game.

“It will be nice to be at home,” said Peavey. “It’s a regiongame and that’s important to us.”

Peavey’s Panthers fell behind Clinton 13-3 before gaining a13-13 deadlock in the fourth quarter. The final 12 minutes ofaction featured six touchdowns.

“We improved against Clinton,” said Peavey. “We must run theball better. We must be more physical.”

The Panthers only managed 8 rushing yards against Clinton.Standout junior running back Charles Wilson sat out the game due toan ankle injury. Wilson is expected to play Friday night againstMcComb.

On the bright side, the Panthers amassed 200 yards passing assophomore quarterback Charles Rancifer completed 19 of 39 passesbut threw 2 interceptions. Montral Smith caught 2 touchdown passesand Rancifer ran for another.

Rancifer was named The DAILY LEADER’s Offensive Player of theWeek.

“Defensively, we must continue what we are doing,” said Peavey.”We have to eliminate the big plays.”

T.J. Qualls returned a fumble 29 yards to the Clinton 6-yardline, setting up Ole Brook’s first TD. Qualls also had 7 tackles.Cornerback Anthony Caffie led the team with 8 tackles. Bart Siashad 5 tackles and Virgil Sanders 4.

Martin Leads McComb

Martin, 47, moved to McComb from Laurel, where he was defensivecoordinator for 9 years. He also coached at Quitman and NortheastJones.

“Our kids are young and we are learning,” said Martin. “We did alot of good things even though it looked bad against MadisonCentral.

“We made a lot of mistakes. We’ve been working on correctingthem in practice this week. The players have a good attitude andthey are looking forward to playing Brookhaven.”

Martin said the Panthers have talent on both sides of thefootball. “Brookhaven has a real good football team. They have sizeand speed. They can throw the ball when they have to. It’s a rivalgame and they’ll get after us.”

Quarterback Alonzo Harris (5-8, 155, jr.) calls signals for theTigers. Against Madison Central, he was 8-20-1 for 141 yards and 1TD. Wide receiver Justin Powell (5-8,155, soph.) caught 5 passesfor 121 yards and a TD.

At running back, Martin said he is using a number of players.”We use about six or eight runners.”

In last week’s game, Demorius Stewart (5-7, 180, jr.), MarkieFaust (5-10, 180, sr.) and Demarcus Butler (5-10, 160, soph.) werethe main rushers. Stewart led the way with 31 yards on 8carries.

“Our defense is getting better,” said Martin. “We have six orseven sophomores playing over there. They are learning to tackleand read plays.”

McComb’s kicker is Dylan Boyd. He also punts and kicks off.

Madison Central led McComb 28-0 at halftime and coasted to a49-7 triumph. The Jaguars are ranked No. 6 in the latest Class 5AAssociated Press Prep Poll.

Panther Paws: Last year Ronny McNulty rushedfor 4 touchdowns and 120 yards in a 52-13 rout of the Tigers.Quarterback Jimmy Johns added 121 yards rushing and 2 TDs. Johnsalso passed for 138 yards, including a 44-yard scoring strike toBud Chatman.