Here’s a look at the upcoming matchups ahead of another Friday night packed with high school football action.

 

Lawrence County (3-3) vs. University Lab (4-1)

Cougar Field, Monticello

Lawrence County coach Jesse Anderson and his Cougars have won three games in a row after topping Sumrall 53-47 last week in the Region 7-4A opener for both schools.

Led by Daily Leader Offensive Player of the Week Ahmad Hardy and his 400 yards rushing, the Cougars led 34-23 at halftime on the road at Sumrall.

Senior quarterback Kannon Cato was the other big gainer on the night for the LC offense as he rushed the ball 11 times for 159 yards and three touchdowns.

Sophomore Lafreddrick Harris led the Lawrence County offense with 14 tackles in the win.

The Cougars are averaging 47 points per game in their win streak after starting the season with three tight losses.

The Louisiana State University Laboratory School is sometimes also called U-High. The school is located on the campus of LSU in Baton Rouge and has a rich tradition in athletics.

The Cubs are currently 4-1 with their lone loss coming to Archbishop Rummel of Metairie.

University Lab got a boost from Mississippi this summer when Madison-St. Joe quarterback Emile Picarella transferred to the school. A junior, Picarella is rated the no. 9 quarterback for his class in the country. He holds offers from Oregon, Pittsburg, Oklahoma State, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Mississippi State among others.

Lawrence County is 0-2 all-time against competition from the state of Louisiana. In 1991 they lost 35-0 to John Curtis Christian School and then the next year they lost 48-6 to JCCS again.

The Cougars will get back to division play next week against Purvis in Monticello and they’ll also close the regular season out with a home game against Forrest County AHS on Oct. 26.

West Lincoln (2-4) at Bogue Chitto (3-3)

Troy Smith Field, Bogue Chitto

Region 7-2A action continues for county rivals West Lincoln and Bogue Chitto as both teams are coming off thrillers played on their home fields last week.

For West Lincoln and coach Brad Bland, the decision to play for a win paid off as the Bears scored late and went for a 2-point conversion last week against Sylva-Bay Academy.

Offensive lineman Zackary Taylor took the handoff and forced his way into the endzone for the go-ahead conversion in a 15-14 victory.

That wasn’t Taylor’s only rush of the game as the 6-foot-4, 280-pound senior carried the ball eight times for 50 yards and averaged 6.3 yards per carry on the night. Both West Lincoln Touchdowns came on quarterback runs by junior Caden Seay.

Also, on the ground for the Bears, junior Tyler Hall ran the ball 23 times for 53 yards and sophomore Weston Patten had 11 rushes for 56 yards.

Taylor led the West Lincoln defense with 11 tackles and senior Ryan Purdy chipped in 10 tackles as well.

Purdy had four tackles for a loss including a pair of sacks that went for a combined 21-yards lost by the SBA quarterback. Hall snagged an interception and forced a fumble and Taylor had a fumble recovery.

Bogue Chitto is coming off a region loss to Amite County in a back-and-forth ballgame that came down to the final possession for both teams. AC caused a fumble with six minutes left and scored on that drive to take the win in the first division game for both schools.

Bogue Chitto senior quarterback Jax Leggett had a career night passing the ball as he went 12-of-21 for 158 yards and three scores. Junior wideout Noah Magee caught five of those passes for 94 yards and three scores.

Leggett also led the Bobcats on the ground with 62 yards on nine carries. Senior running back Easton Sartin rushed 15 times for 52 yards and one touchdown. Freshman Jayden Poole carried the ball five times for 24 yards, senior Jay May rushed seven times for 34 yards and junior Isaiah Collins got seven carries for 59 yards.

Loyd Star (5-1) at Amite County (2-4)

Trojan Field, Liberty

The stakes will be high when Hornet Nation invades Liberty for a big Region 7-2A matchup with the Amite County Trojans.

The Trojans have a well-coached team with size on the line and speed at their skill positions. They played a clean game against Bogue Chitto with few mistakes and came out on top. Despite their 2-4 record, this is the most talented team from Amite County in at least five years.

Loyd Star took care of business at home last week with a 44-30 victory over Wilkinson County. It was the third game this season for the Hornets to score more than 40 points in a win.

The ground game from Loyd Star was too much for Wilkinson County to stop as freshman quarterback Jordyn Kees ran the ball 31 times for 198 yards and three scores. Senior fullback Jaden Lea also picked up 182 yards on 27 carries. Lea scored two rushing touchdowns and senior Caleb Smith also added a rushing score for coach Adam Smith and his staff.

Senior Brandon Burt led the Loyd Star defense with 11 tackles in the win. Lea had 10 stops and junior Zack Cotton made 10 tackles as well.

Sophomore Cooper Creel snagged a pair of interceptions for the Hornets and Burt also had an interception as well.

Brookhaven Academy (1-6) vs. Silliman Institute (5-2)

R.M. “Red” Stuart Field, Brookhaven

Homecoming 2023 will be celebrated Friday at Brookhaven Academy as fellow MAIS District 3-5A member Silliman Institute is the opponent for coach Reggie Lea and his Cougars.

Based in Clinton, Louisiana, SI made waves within the district with a win earlier this season over Adams County Christian School. The losses thus far for the Wildcats in 2023 were consecutive defeats against Jackson Academy and Parklane Academy.

The MAIS 5A playoffs will be an ultra-competitive one as Parklane Academy, Silliman, ACCS, Copiah Academy and Simpson Academy all currently have high rankings in the power point system used by the league to seed the postseason.

It was Simpson Academy who topped BA last week 55-12 in a game played in Mendenhall.

Wesson (5-0) vs. Port Gibson (2-4)

H.L. “Hook” Stone Stadium, Wesson

The festivities around Homecoming 2023 will be capped off Friday when the Wesson Cobras take on the Port Gibson Blue Wave in a Region 7-3A pairing.

The Cobras are rested and ready after a week off to prepare for this final stretch of the season when they’ll host Port Gibson and South Pike and play road games against Franklin County and Jefferson County.

With just five teams in the district and playoff spots available for the top four teams, a win over Port Gibson would nearly lock up a spot in the postseason for coach Jeremy Loy and his team.

Port Gibson lost 14-6 last week at home to Jefferson County.

The Blue Wave are 8-0 all-time against Wesson with the most recent meeting being a 34-13 victory for Port Gibson in 2016.

Brookhaven High (2-3) at Florence High (3-3)

Eagle Stadium, Florence

Brookhaven High had an off-week last Friday and a chance to prepare and focus for the biggest game of the season, its region opener at Florence High.

Florence started the season 3-0 and lost its last three games by a combined five points. The Eagles dropped an overtime game 42-41 to Mendenhall, lost a shootout 42-40 to an unbeaten Holmes County Central and made the long trip to Hancock High last week where they lost 22-20 to an undefeated 6A Hancock squad.

Coached by former standout Southern Miss linebacker Rod Davis, the Eagles went 7-4 last season, including a 25-14 victory over BHS. That win was the first in program history for Florence against the Panthers.

Enterprise (3-3) vs. Resurrection Catholic (4-1)

Harry Cole Field, Highway 583

Enterprise wants to shake off the disappointment of dropping its region opener last week at Lumberton by a 41-2 final score.

Resurrection Catholic, located in Pascagoula, is 4-0 all-time against the EAC Yellow Jackets. The Eagles of Resurrection won 48-6 last season and 48-12 when they last visited Harry Cole Field in 2021.

Last week, Resurrection beat Salem 56-26. Enterprise coach Trey Woodard and his team will host Salem next Friday.