The task for Wesson Friday night will be to slow down four-star athlete Dannis Jackson.

Jackson — a wide receiver who is now lining up at quarterback in his senior season — is the straw that stirs the drink for the Sumrall Bobcats.

“We’ve done a good job defending him the last two years as a wide receiver, but as a quarterback he touches the ball every down and they scheme to get him into the open field,” said Wesson coach Jeremy Loy. “The thing you can’t do is get caught ball watching and not cover their wideouts because he can really throw. He’s not one dimensional.”

Jackson was originally committed to Mississippi State, but flipped to Ole Miss this summer. He’ll also play baseball in Oxford.

Last week against South Jones the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Jackson went 14-for-18 passing for 153 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed 14 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Zane Berry was his favorite target, catching eight passes for 95 yards. Senior Nijewel Coleman led the Bobcats with eight solo tackles in the 36-7 win over the 5A South Jones Braves.

The game will be part of the KDMC Kickoff Classic on the campus of Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

Loy expects the home side of Stone Stadium to be packed with Cobra fans.

“We had a great crowd last week at Crystal Springs before the weather got bad and I’m sure our fans are going to show up for this one,” said Loy. “The last two years we’ve had close games with Sumrall that have come down to fourth quarter scores. They are a well-coached team that’s a 4A playoff contender. This will be a good test for our guys.”

Sumrall — coached by Shannon White — beat Wesson 35-21 in 2017 and 41-35 in 2016.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Stone Stadium.

Story by Cliff Furr