Enterprise battles West Lincoln for playoff seeding

Published 10:10 am Thursday, October 22, 2015

Daily Leader / MARTY ALBRIGHT / West Lincoln's seniors (kneeling, from left) Brennan Cagle, Jayden Rushing, Liam Rutland, Matthew Allred; (standing) Ethan Howell, Charles Wayne Smith, Lofton Sills, Nicholas Burns, Patrick Nottingham and the rest of the Bears will battle the Enterprise Jackets Friday night at Harry Cole Field.

Daily Leader / MARTY ALBRIGHT / West Lincoln’s seniors (kneeling, from left) Brennan Cagle, Jayden Rushing, Liam Rutland, Matthew Allred; (standing) Ethan Howell, Charles Wayne Smith, Lofton Sills, Nicholas Burns, Patrick Nottingham and the rest of the Bears will battle the Enterprise Jackets Friday night at Harry Cole Field.

Playoff seeding is on the line as several local and area schools fight to stay alive in their region races with two or three games remaining in MHSAA regular season football action.

Five local schools will have home games Friday night in Week 10 of high school football. The Enterprise Jackets will battle their Lincoln County/Region 7-2A rivals, the West Lincoln Bears, at Harry Cole Field.

In another Region 7-2A contest, the Loyd Star Hornets will welcome the three-time defending state champions, the Bassfield Yellowjackets, to W.E. “Sambo” Smith Field.

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In Region 3-5A action, the Brookhaven Panthers host the West Jones Mustangs at King Field.

In Region 6-4A action, the Lawrence County Cougars travel to Richland to take on the Rangers.

In Region 7-3A action, the Wesson Cobras will host the Franklin County Bulldogs in Stone Stadium.

In Region 7-1A action, the Bogue Chitto Bobcats will visit Pascagoula to battle the Resurrection Catholic Eagles.

In a MAIS contest, the Brookhaven Academy Cougars will invade Gallman to play the Copiah Academy Colonels.

In other games of local interest, Hazlehurst hosts Jefferson County, McComb entertains North Pike, South Pike visits Florence and Parklane travels to Hillcrest.

West Lincoln (2-6, 0-3),  led by first-year head coach Charlie Jackson, battled the Prentiss Bulldogs last week and lost 56-14 at Perry Miller Field.

Nathaniel Addison

Nathaniel Addison

This week, the Bears are hungry for a district win as they prepare to travel across Lincoln County to battle the Enterprise Yellow Jackets in a big Region 7-2A contest.

West Lincoln’s top offensive performer against Prentiss was junior quarterback Nathaniel Addison. He completed 12-of-24 passes for 146 yards. Chase Owens led all receivers with five catches for 121 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Matthew Messer directed the Bears with 10 tackles. Lofton Sills contributed eight tackles and had a forced and recovered fumble. Liam Rutland finished with eight tackles. Brandon Smith had seven tackles.

Enterprise (3-5, 0-3),  coached by Brooks Burns, traveled to Loyd Star Friday and battled the Hornets in an offensive showdown.

Wayne Lambert

Wayne Lambert

Austin Boyte

Austin Boyte

Heading into the final period down 38-14, Enterprise rallied back to outscore the Hornets 18-16, but came up short at the end falling to Loyd Star 54-32.

This week, the Jackets are looking to shake things up in the fight for the final playoff spot as they take on the West Lincoln Bears at home.

Enterprise’s top offensive performer against Loyd Star was Tanner Waldrop with 116 yards on nine carries. Dewayne Pendleton had nine rushes for 70 yards. Marvin Butler finished with seven carries for 64 yards.

Zach Hodges completed two passes for 65 yards and rushed for 83 yards on eight carries.

Defensively, Austin Boyte was the leader for the Jackets with 11 tackles. Wayne Lambert provided nine tackles and Devon Kirtfield finished with seven tackles. Braxton Thompson had six stops.

Last year, West Lincoln beat Enterprise 36-8 at Perry Miller Field.

My prediction: In a battle to keep playoff hopes alive, the Bears elude the Jackets 32-28.