The Loyd Star Hornets got a leg up on their rivals as the firstweek of practice wound down. Head coach Ryan Ross scheduled thesixth practice for Saturday morning at 12:01 a.m., the firstopportunity to don full equipment.

According to Mississippi High School Activities Associationrules regulating preseason football practice, players must have 5days of practice before donning full gear.

“It (midnight special) went really well,” said Coach Ross. “Wedidn’t have a single player absent.”

Ross said the Hornets practiced for approximately 2 hours. Itgave them a long weekend, instead of practicing Saturdayafternoon.

“It was mostly team work,” said Ross. “The kids really seemed toenjoy it. We had parents and fans out there.”

The Hornets debut Aug. 21, hosting Franklin County for a ClassicGame. “Every day and every practice counts because we have an earlygame,” said Ross.

Bogue Chitto: “We are in fairly decent shape,” said head coachGareth Sartin. “We are working hard to get better. We have to workout the kinks before we play our first game.”

Sartin’s 3 returning starters in the offensive line have beenmoved around. The quarterback position must be filled by a rookiesince 4-year starter Seth Avants graduated.

Working at quarterback are junior Javier Gee and sophomoreColton McClendon.

The Bobcats host Madison St. Joseph for their first game, Aug.21.

Brookhaven Academy: The Cougars scrimmaged Friday evening atClass AAA Jackson Academy.

“I saw some improvement on defense,” said BA coach HerbertDavis. “Overall, we still have a long way to go. We didn’t lookvery good.”

The teams alternated 10 plays on offense and 10 plays ondefense. Davis said Donovan Lorraine played well at middlelinebacker and “made a lot of tackles.”

“We have to get better at blocking and tackling, rushing thefootball and running the pass routes,” said Davis.

Junior quarterback Chandler Rogers was under heavy pressure fromJA’s defense. Davis said his team has potential but they mustovercome injuries and the absence of a few players who quit theteam. “We just haven’t put it together yet.”

The Cougars, 3-time defending District 4-AA champions,participate in the Parklane Academy Jamboree Friday night atMcComb. Centreville Academy will join the Cougars and Pioneers inthe jamboree.

Brookhaven: Ole Brook head coach Tucker Peavey said he waspleased with Saturday morning’s scrimmage. “I thought our defenseflew around and made some plays and so did our offense.

“We have to work more on our passing game,” Peavey added.

The Panthers ran 25 live kicking plays. There were around 100plays in the scrimmage.

“I was pleased with our kicking game,” said Peavey. “We coveredwell and we returned the ball well. The kicks were prettygood.”

Dewey Staley and Matthew Hart did the placekicking. Nick Peaveyand Hart handled the punting.

Coach Peavey said his players coped with the heat and humiditywell during the 2-hour scrimmage.

Overall, Peavey said preseason practice has gone well for hisPanthers. “I’ve been pleased with our progress. We have had goodretention from spring practice.”

Thursday has been designated as Meet The Panthers Night,starting at 6:30, on King Field. Football and softball teammembers, plus the cheerleaders, will be introduced. Picture Day isThursday afternoon

The Panthers debut Aug. 28, hosting the Franklin CountyBulldogs.

Wesson: Coach Tommy Clopton’s Cobras are growing in number. Withthe start of school last week, the squad has grown to 50players.

The Cobras put on shoulder pads Thursday after 3 days in shorts,helmets and T-shirts. Clopton and his staff taught the basics.

“We threw the book at our kids this week,” said Clopton. “Weprobably put in 90 percent of the plays we will run thisseason.

“We did a lot of teaching and a lot of conditioning,” saidClopton. The Cobras ran 35 offensive plays and 25 defensive playsduring Friday’s practice after posing for Picture Day.

Wesson puts on full equipment Monday. The Cobras debut Aug. 28at Richland.

Lawrence County: “We had a very good week,” said LCHS coach MikeDavis. “They didn’t let the hot weather and rain beat them down.The kids responded well.”

Davis said all phases of the game were covered this week. TheCougars put on shoulder pads Thursday and are looking forward tofull equipment Monday.

“I told the kids, “We have five more practices and it’s gameweek.”

The Cougars will host Jackson Callaway Aug. 21 in anMHSAA-designated Classic Game. Kickoff is 7:30.