District races are continuing to heat up as several local and area schools are preparing for another tough challenge in their regions.

Local high school football fans will have a Thursday night special to see the Wesson Cobras entertain the Crystal Springs Tigers before going into search mode for a Friday night game in week eight of the Friday Night Lights football frenzy.

Four local schools will have home games Friday night. The Brookhaven Panthers are having their homecoming festivities Friday night as former and past alumni return to their alma mater for their class reunions.

Enterprise welcomes the defending 2A state champion Bassfield Yellowjackets to Harry Cole Field. Lawrence County hosts McComb, and Franklin County entertains Hazlehurst.

Several local schools will be on the road facing region opponents. Brookhaven Academy visits Clinton, La., to battle the Silliman Institute Wildcats; Bogue Chitto invades Lumberton; Loyd Star travels to Columbia to tangle with the East Marion Eagles; and Amite County welcomes West Lincoln to Liberty.

In other area action, North Pike hosts Purvis; South Pike invades Columbia; Copiah Academy visits Presbyterian Christian; and Columbia Academy entertains Parklane.

Wesson (0-6, 0-1),  coached by Ronald Greer, ran into a brick wall last week and fell 45-20 to the defending 3A state champions Hazlehurst Indians

The Cobras are looking for their first win of the season as they prepare to host the Crystal Springs Tigers.

The Tigers (1-6, 0-1), under the direction of coach Stephen Rice, suffered a disappointing 22-20 region 7-3A loss to Jefferson County last Friday.

Working in the trenches for the Cobras’ offensive line is Kendrick Brown at tight end, Chase Twiner and Mitchell Hughes at tackle, Matthew Craft and Justin Boone at guard and Josh Francois at center

Wesson’s top performers last week:

Otis Smith was the offensive leader for the Cobras with 16 rushes for 74 yards.

Defensively, Kendrick Brown led Wesson with five tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery.

Brookhaven (4-2, 0-2),  coached by Tommy Clopton, suffered another tough 44-6 Region 3-5A loss to the Wayne County War Eagles.

The Panthers will have to overcome the distractions of the homecoming events to get prepare for the West Jones Mustangs.

The Mustangs (4-1, 2-0) coached by Scott Pierson, are riding a three-game winning streak. They clobbered the Natchez Bulldogs 30-8 last Friday.

BHS’s top performers last week:

Ken Boyd paced the Panthers offensive attack on the ground with 18 rushes for 169 yards.

Fred Trevillion completed 13 of 34 passes for 142 yards and three interceptions. Javonte Trevillion was the primary receiver in the attack with seven catches for 70 yards,

Defensively, Ty Hill directed the Panthers with 17 tackles. Kardale Clark contributed eight stops.

Brookhaven Academy (3-4, 2-0),  coached by Tripp McCarty, is looking to rebound from a terrible 47-6 loss to the Simpson Academy Cougars last Friday night.

BA will visit Clinton, La., to battle the Silliman Institute Wildcats.

The Wildcats (4-3, 2-1), under the direction of T.J. Davis, destroyed Central Private for a 45-0 victory last week.

BA’s top performers last week:

Heath Hickman led BA with 42 yards on the ground and 67 yards through the air on five completions. Landon Nettles posted the only points for BA on a 4-yard touchdown run. Caleb Brown and Jacob Thurman both had 31 yards on two catches each.

Defensively, Tramel Shedd led the Cougars with 8 1/2 tackles. Ethan Harris and Bailey Warren added eight and five stops.

Bogue Chitto (6-0, 4-0),  coached by Gareth Sartin, enjoyed an unsuspected open date last week. Resurrection and BC had to cancel the Saturday night game due to Tropical Storm Karen. The makeup date is Oct. 18.

The undefeated and No. 1 ranked Bobcats are ready for some action as they travel to Lumberton to tangle with the Lumberton Panthers.

The Panthers (4-2, 4-0), coached by Brian Ford, are currently riding a four-game winning streak. Lumberton edged Natchez Cathedral 20-19 last Friday.

BC’s top performers two weeks ago against Dexter:

Brock Roberts led the Bobcats completing seven passes for 168 yards and one interception. He also rushed for 121 yards on 12 carries.

Defensively, Jeremy Blackwell paced the team with 12 tackles. Justin Click contributed with 10 stops.

West Lincoln (1-5, 0-1),  coached by Willie Brumfield, witnessed the athletic talents of Bassfield as the Yellowjackets shut out the Bears 69-0 last Friday.

The Bears will visit another region foe in Liberty as they prepare the Amite County Trojans.

The Trojans (3-3), under the direction of Robert Raines, overpowered the Loyd Star Hornets 32-13 last Friday.

West Lincoln’s top performer last week:

Sloan led the Bears with three rushes for 25 yards. Bryce Temple had eight rushes for 10 yards and caught two passes for 26 yards.

Defensively, Jayden Rushing and Ty Forman were the top hitters for the Bears.

Enterprise (0-6, 0-1),  coached by Brooks Burns, suffered a disappointing 42-0 homecoming loss to the East Marion Eagles last week.

The Jackets will host Bassfield in a battle of Yellowjackets on Harry Cole Field this week.

Bassfield (6-1, 1-0), coached by Lance Mancuso, thumped West Lincoln 69-0 in their Region 7-2A opener.

Working in Enterprise’s offensive line is James King, Colton Welch, Dylan Nelton, Adam Magee, Jacob Thames, Drake Allen, Landon Parson and Wayne Lambert.

Enterprise’s top performer last week:

Senior running back Jackson Cole paced the Jackets’ offense with 77 yards rushing on 19 carries. Jake Case contributed 21 yards on 10 rushing attempts.

Defensively, Cole directed Enterprise with 12 tackles and one forced fumble. Tristan Cantrell provided five stops and had one interception.

Loyd Star (1-5, 0-1)  will have to overcome a major blow after their head coach Randall Huffman resigned from coaching.

The Hornets suffered a 32-13 loss to Amite County last week. Loyd Star invades Columbia to tangle with the East Marion Eagles.

The Eagles (6-1, 1-0), led by coach Kevin Jackson, blanked the Enterprise Yellow Jackets 42-0 last Friday.

Loyd Star’s top performers last week:

Seth Farmer was the offensive leader for Loyd Star, completing seven-of-16 passes for 82 yards.

Junior running back Peyton Flowers paced the rushing attack with 14 carries for 75 yards.

Defensively, Flowers directed the Hornets with eight solo tackles and four assists. Dustin Hart provided eight solo stops and three assists.

Lawrence County (3-4, 0-1),  coached by first-year coach Herbert Davis, suffered a 42-21-homecoming loss to the North Pike Jaguars last Friday.

The Cougars will be looking to climb back into the win column as they prepare to host the McComb Tigers.

The Tigers (4-2, 1-0), coached by Malcolm Jones, feasted on the South Pike Eagles 55-0 last Friday.

LCHS’s top performers last week:

Gabruan Smith rushed for 93 yards on 10 carries to lead the Cougars. Tex Cole gained 65 yards on 14 tries. Will Jackson passed for 102 yards, but was intercepted three times by the Jaguars.

Defensively, D’Edrick Jones recovered a Lawrence County fumble.

Franklin County (3-3, 0-1),  coached by first-year head coach Chris Calcote, was clobbered 40-28 last Friday by the Wilkinson County Wildcats.

The Bulldogs are hungry for their first win region action and will have to tough challenge on their hands as they host the Hazlehurst Indians.

The Indians (6-1, 1-0), coached by Randel Montgomery, cruised past Wesson to claim a 45-20 victory last week.

Franklin County’s top performer last week:

Chris Robinson led the Bulldogs with 92 yards rushing on 16 attempts. Malik Moore passed for 71 yards on five-of-seven attempts.

On defense, junior DeAnthony King made a career high 16 tackles and deflected a pass. Sophomore Chris O’Quinn made 14 hits.