District races are really heating up as several local and area schools are scratching and clawing for a playoff spot with one month remaining until the end of the season.

Local football fans will be searching for some big wins as some folks prepares to travel to support their favorite schools, while other fans have a choice of four home games to choose from in week nine of the Friday Night Lights football frenzy.

Loyd Star and Franklin County will be having their homecoming festivities this Friday night as former and past alumni return to their alma mater for their class reunions. Loyd Star hosts Enterprise and Franklin County entertains Crystal Springs.

West Lincoln welcomes East Marion to Perry Miller Field. Brookhaven Academy visits Gallman to battle the Copiah Academy Colonels.

Several local schools will be on the road facing region opponents. Brookhaven invades South Jones; Bogue Chitto visits Resurrection; Jefferson County hosts Wesson and South Pike welcomes Lawrence County.

In other area action, Hazlehurst visit Wilkinson County; North Pike entertains Columbia; Parklane hosts East Rankin; and McComb invades Purvis.

Brookhaven (4-3, 0-3),  coached by Tommy Clopton, suffered a disappointing 38-26 homecoming loss to West Jones last Friday.

This week, the Panthers are sharpening their claws as they prepare to visit Ellisville to battle the South Jones Braves for a Region 3-5A victory.

The Braves (1-6, 0-3), coached by Chet Bergalowski, were clobbered by Natchez 67-7 last week.

BHS’s top performers last week:

Fred Trevillion paced the Panthers offensive attack, completing eight-of-19 passes for 131 yards.

Tre McDaniel directed the ground attack with 92 yards rushing on 25 carries.

Defensively, Kardale Clark and Chris Calcote were the top hitters for Ole Brook with five tackles apiece.

Brookhaven Academy (3-5, 2-0),  coached by Tripp McCarty, experienced a bad taste in their mouths after falling to Silliman Institute 23-20 last Friday.

BA invades Gallman to tangle with their archrivals, the Copiah Academy Colonels.

The Colonels (1-7, 0-3), under the direction of Scotty Cline, were hammered the Presbyterian Christian Bobcats 42-6 last week.

Starting in BA’s offensive line are Cody Thornhill at center, Travis Thornton at right tackle, Colby Culbertson at right guard, Wyatt Pepper at left guard and Garrett Pace at left tackle. Brock Ezell and Carter Culbertson are the tight ends

BA’s top performers last week:

Landon Nettles was the offensive leader with 70 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Heath Hickman passed for 97 yards on seven attempts. Caleb Brown hauled in three grabs for 91 yards on the evening.

Defensively, the Cougars were lead by Michael Fiorella with six tackles on the night. Landon Nettles and Travis Thornton added five and a half and four stops.

Bogue Chitto (7-0, 5-0),  coached by Gareth Sartin, continue to dominate their Region 4-1A race after defeating the Lumberton Panthers 17-12 last Friday

This week, the undefeated and No. 1 ranked Bobcats invade Pascagoula to tangle with the Resurrection Eagles.

The Eagles (3-4, 1-4), coached by Scott Sisson, were defeated 46-21 by the Stringer Red Devils last week.

BC’s top performers last week:

Brock Roberts directed the Bobcats offense with 15 carries for 113 yards and one touchdown. He also completed nine of 19 attempts for 160 yards and one touchdown.

Damein Terrell was the top receiver with three catches for 97 yards.

Defensively, Jeremy Blackwell led BC with 14 tackles. Seth Hodges and Devaris Bullock had eight takedowns apiece.

West Lincoln (1-6, 0-2),  coached by Willie Brumfield, was outclassed by the speed of the Amite County Trojans falling 46-14 last Friday.

This week, the Bears are home after a long road tour to host the East Marion Eagles.

The Eagles (7-1, 2-0), under the direction of Kevin Jackson, soared past Loyd Star 41-0 last week.

West Lincoln’s top performers last week:

Senior quarterback Jonah King was the offensive leader for West Lincoln, completing five-of-11 passes for 107 yards. He also rushed for 15 yards on three carries.

Defensively, Kodie Carroll paced the Bears with 10 tackles. Jada Use and Luke Barrilleaux provided eight stops each.

Loyd Star (1-6, 0-2), under the direction of the Hornets assistant coaches, suffered a tough 41-0 shutout last week to East Marion last week.

This week, the Hornets will enjoy some good home cooking as they entertain their Lincoln County and Region rivals, the Enterprise Yellow Jackets, for homecoming.

Loyd Star’s top performers last week:

Peyton Flowers led the Hornet with 13 rushes for 51 yards.

Defensively, Tevin Lackland paced Loyd Star with eight tackles.

Enterprise (0-7, 0-2),  coached by Brooks Burns, witnessed the athletic talents of Bassfield as the Yellowjackets blanked the Lincoln County-based Jackets 54-0 last Friday.

The Jackets will searching for their first win of the season and first region victory as they prepare to invade Loyd Star.

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

Enterprise’s top performers last week:

Senior running back Neil Ratcliff was the offensive leader for Enterprise with 37 yards rushing on 12 carries.

Defensively, Jackson Cole paced the Enteprise’s charge with eight tackles.

Wesson (1-6, 1-1),  coached by Ronald Greer, experienced the first win of the season after beating the Crystal Springs Tigers in offensive showdown 55-53 last Thursday.

The Cobras will be hoping to continue that success when they visit the Jefferson County Tigers.

The Tigers (2-4-1, 1-1), coached by James Herrington, suffered a disappointing 37-26 loss to Wilkinson County last week.

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:

Tyler Christmas was the offensive leader for the Cobras’ ground attack with 15 rushes for 136 yards. Lewis contributed 112 yards rushing on 12 carries.

Defensively, Timothy Craft and Kendrick Brown were the hard hitters for the Cobras with five tackles apiece.

Lawrence County (3-5, 0-2),  coached by first-year coach Herbert Davis, had a tough pill to swallow after falling to the McComb Tigers 40-13 last Friday.

This week, the Cougars will looking to feast on the Eagles of South Pike.

The Eagles (1-6, 0-2), coached by Michael Andrews, were destroyed by the Columbia Wildcats 44-24 last week.

LCHS’s top performer last week:

Gabraun Smith had a big night for the Cougars, a team forced by injuries, to totally revamp its offensive approach. Smith rushed for 97 yards on 21 carries and caught four passes for 73 yards.

Franklin County (3-4, 0-2),  coached by first-year head coach Chris Calcote, experienced first hand of the dominance of the defending State 3A champions Hazlehurst Indians and lost 42-15 last Friday.

This week, the Bulldogs are thrill to host the Crystal Spring Tigers for homecoming.

The Tigers, (1-7, 0-2), under the direction of coach Stephen Rice, fell 55-53 in an offensive shootout with Wesson.

Franklin County’s top performer last week:

Senior running back Chris Robinson provided the only spark for the Bulldogs with 112 yards rushing on 20 carries, and scoring both of the teams’ touchdowns.