The Wesson Cobras travel to Florence Friday night to meet theMcLaurin Tigers in a key Region 6-2A battle for second place in theregion and the right to host a first-round game in the statefootball playoffs. Game time is 7 p.m.

In other area games, Lawrence County hosts Forest Hill forhomecoming, Franklin County invades Wilkinson County, North Piketravels to Jefferson County, McComb is at Florence, South Pikeentertains Tylertown, Parklane invades Silliman, Hazlehurstentertain Bailey and Crystal Springs visits Amite County.

Wesson is coming off a key 28-21 region win over Hinds AHS inovertime last week. The Cobras, coached by Tommy Clopton, improvedto 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the region.

McLaurin (4-4, 2-2) handed Enterprise a 51-14 beating lastFriday.

Clopton said McLaurin has the most skilled players he has seenthis season.

“McLaurin is very fast,” stated Clopton. “They have more skillathletes than anyone we have played. They are the most talentedteam in our district at the skill positions.

“Their quarterback, Michael Young (No. 7), is what a quarterbackshould be,” continued Clopton. “Young is a big, strong kid. He runsthe ball. He gets the ball to the receivers at the right time.Kentrell Quick (No. 2) and Sedric Walker (No. 21) are hisbacks.

Clopton said McLaurin plays defense similar to Wesson’s.

“McLaurin will mix up their fronts,” said Clopton of the Tigerdefense. “They’ll play a 4 man front like us, then 5 man with a lotof coverage.”

Starting on the offense line for Wesson are Jonathan Grace attight end; Dominique Johnson at right tackle; Zach Williams atright guard; Matt Smith at center; Beau Wilson at left guard andBrady Knight at left tackle.

Senior running back Roy Williams powered the Cobras with 21carries for 112 yards in the win over Hinds AHS. Rushing for 100yards on 18 carries was Jeromy Smith.

Leading the Cobra defense with 11 tackles was senior linebackerBeau Wilson. John Craft collected 9 tackles followed by Williamswith 7.

“We have to do what we have done in the other games,” saidClopton. “We have to protect the football and be patient onoffense. Defensively, we have to play physical and not give up anybig plays.”

Last year, Wesson shut out McLaurin 26-0.

Lawrence County celebrates homecoming withRegion 6-4A rival Forest Hill as its opponent. Coach Mike Davis’Cougars handed the Jefferson County Tigers a 66-26 loss innon-region action last Friday.

Forest Hill (2-6, 1-3) is coming off a tough 21-7 region loss toFlorence.

Davis watched film on Forest Hill and was impressed with theirquarterback.

“Jason Johnson (No. 7) is one of the best quarterbacks in thestate,” said Davis. “He has a big arm. He has receivers that cancatch the ball. He can give you real problems. They spread it lot.They rely on him throwing the ball.’

“Defensively, they run a 3-3 blitz with stunting linebackers,”stated Davis. “They give you headache. You have to worry aboutpicking somebody up.”

Starting on the offensive line for Lawrence County are TreyHarvey at center; Joshua Magee at right guard; Ontario Taylor atright tackle; Blake Stalans at right tight end: Martez Bryant atleft guard; Carlton Harris at left tackle; Brandon Middlebrook atleft end. John Serring and Carlton Parkman are the utility playerswho play any position on the line.

In the win over Jefferson County, senior tailback IsaiahFerdinand led the Lawrence ground game with 182 rushing yards andscored 2 touchdowns. Kendrick Hardy rushed for 103 yards andreturned a kickoff 80 yards for a TD.

“We can’t give up the big play and let their receivers runbehind us in open field,” added Davis. “We have to protect thefootball and run the clock.”

Franklin County invades Woodville for a Region7-3A matchup with Wilkinson County. The Meadville-based Bulldogsare 2-2 in the region and 6-2 on the season.

Franklin County, coached by Grady McCluskey, recorded a 42-8region victory over the South Pike Eagles.

Wilkinson County (1-7, 0-4) suffered a tough 32-18 region lossto North Pike last week.

Bulldog quarterback Jamie Collins rushed the football 12 timesfor 103 yards and score the first 2 TDs in the win over South Pike.Alex Smith rushed 18 times for 120 yards.

Junior kicker Jace Carlock nailed six PAT attempts for theBulldogs.

Last year, Franklin County crushed Wilkinson 47-0.

North Pike faces another tough Region 7-3A foein Jefferson County. The Jaguars, under first-year head coach ChrisSmith, improved to 2-2 in the region and 2-6 overall.

Jefferson County is tied with South Pike for first with a 3-1worksheet in the region. The Tigers are 6-2 on the season afterfalling to Lawrence County 66-26 last week.

McComb came away with a 19-6 over theMendenhall Tigers in Region 6-4A action last week. McComb’s Tigers,under the direction of first-year head coach Randy Martin, improvedto 2-2 in the region and 5-3 overall.

McComb travels to Florence to meet the Eagles in a big regioncontest for both teams. Florence (7-1, 3-1) stopped Forest Hilllast week.

South Pike is looking to get back in the wincolumn when the Eagles return to Magnolia to face the TylertownChiefs. Coached by Randall Huffman, South Pike(4-3, 3-1) suffered a42-8 loss last Friday to Franklin County.

Tylertown (6-2, 3-2) was upset by Amite County 14-0 lastweek.

Last year, South Pike fell to Tylertown 40-14.

Hazlehurst won its fourth game in-a-row lastweek with a 27-14 Region 6-3A victory over Richland. Coach VernonPerry’s Indians (4-4, 4-0) currently lead their region and hostwinless Jackson Bailey.

Bailey (0-8, 0-4) was shut out 47-0 by region rival CrystalSprings last week.

Hazlehurst was a 50-0 victor over Bailey last year.

Crystal Springs faces a tough opponent in AmiteCounty. Both teams are coming off big wins. The Tigers, under DavidVirgil, are 3-5 on the season and 2-3 in Region 6-3A play.

The Trojans, coached by Charles Jackson, are 4-4 on the seasonand 2-3 in Region 7-3A action.