On Friday, the Wesson Cobras will hope to do what no MHSAA football team has done this season — beat the Raleigh Lions.

The matchup is a MHSAA 3A third round pairing and will kickoff at 7 p.m. in Raleigh.

The lone loss of the season for Raleigh was a 39-28 setback at MAIS member Madison-Ridgeland Academy on Sept. 23.

Raleigh (11-1) boasts a powerful rushing attack led by senior Suntarine Perkins.

Perkins has picked up 1,297 yards thus far in 2022 while scoring 20 touchdowns. He is committed to play next at Ole Miss.

Raleigh is far from a one-man team though as senior running back Javarious Walker has also gained 1,289 yards this season while scoring 16 touchdowns himself.

This will be the second time for Wesson (7-5) to see Raleigh this season. The schools are both members Region 6-3A and met on Oct. 7 — a game won 67-27 by the Lions.

“We’ve got to keep the chains moving and keep their offense off the field,” said WAC head coach Jeremy Loy. “Blocking up front is a challenge against their speed and that’s something we’ll need to do consistently in order to score. As always, we’ve also got to limit turnovers in a big game like this.”

Loy’s son and starting quarterback Will has been playing a high level of football over the last few weeks of the season.

Last week in a 33-19 win over Tylertown, Will Loy went 15-of-17 passing for 244 yards and two touchdowns through the air while also rushing for two more scores on the ground.

Loy passed for 340 yards and four scores in the first matchup with Raleigh.

Raleigh beat Morton 52-6 in the first round of the playoffs but found themselves down at halftime last week before coming back to get a 30-21 win over St. Stanislaus.

The Lions won the region title in their final regular season game with a 36-34 road victory at Hazlehurst High.

Last week against Tylertown, the Wesson defense got a huge effort from its front line.

Senior defensive end Cody Munnn finished with nine tackles, including 2.5 sacks and five quarterback hurries. Senior nose tackle Troy Byther Jr. added seven stops, with one sack as well.

Munn also had a big night punting the ball with one of his three kicks going out of bounds inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

“Raleigh runs the Wing-T offensively and it’s a challenge to stop,” said Jeremy Loy. “It’s especially tough to stop when you’ve got the type of skill players they have. It will be all about effort on every snap for the entire game.”