WL Knights, Warriors face must-win situation

By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
Oct. 18, 2002
If the WWE's Vince McMahon had anything to do in promoting Friday's Division 5-3A football game at Collinsville between West Lauderdale and Choctaw Central, the matchup would most likely be billed as an over the top rope, loser leave town bout.
For that's the situation the contest presents to the loser. At 4-0, Heidelberg has already clinched a playoff berth from 5-3A. Newton County can secure another berth with a win at Carthage Friday night. Choctaw Central already has two league losses as do Carthage and Philadelphia with the Warriors beating the Tigers and losing to the Tornadoes. At 0-3, West Lauderdale has to win out and hope some other factors go in the Knights' favor for a return trip to the playoffs.
Quarterback Anselm Henry led the Warriors to a 27-7 win over Carthage last week scoring all 27 points. Henry leads the Warriors' ground game with 252 yards on 69 carries, while Geno Mack has 247 yards on 69 tries. Henry is 10-of-20 passing for 135 yards, while Shaun Jimmie is 12-of-29 for 153 yards. Rodgrick Anderson is the leading receiver with nine catches for 127 yards.
Randall Hickman has 41 tackles, while Sean Ahshapanck and Jason Webb have 40 each to lead the Warriors' defense.
Two of the Knights' last three opponents are unbeatens Newton County and Greene County.
The Knights won the 2001 contest 28-6 to take a 3-1 lead in the series.
Neshoba Central at Kosciusko
The winless Rockets are eyeballing their best shot at a win thus far when they travel to Kosciusko for a Division 2-4A contest.
Neshoba is 0-2 in the division and 0-7 overall. Kosciusko's Whippets are 1-2 and 2-5.
The Rockets had 80 plays and racked up 325 total yards in last week's 44-16 loss to Noxubee County. Four turnovers, however, eventually led to Neshoba's downfall.
For the year, Kevin Marshall has rushed for 437 yards on 105 carries with Andrew Robinson adding 347 yards on 83 rushes. Josh Palmer is 25-of-76 passing for 327 yards. He only has one touchdown pass to go with nine interceptions. William Adkins is the leading receiver with eight catches for 128 yards.
Leading the Neshoba defense are Eric Horne with 66 tackles and Titus Clark with 48.
The Whippets won last year's game with Neshoba 14-0 to take a 16-10 lead in the series which began in 1971.
Leake Academy at Canton
The Rebels improved to 7-1 overall with last week's 32-6 win over East Rankin. Leake is 4-0 in Academy 2-AA and goes to Canton (1-4, 4-4) this week.
Jeffrey Chancellor leads the Leake ground game with 504 yards on 77 rushes. Brett Moore has 77 carries for 471 yards and Allen Byrd has 438 yards on 62 carries. Moore is 35-of-78 passing for 674 yards and seven touchdowns while throwing only one interception. Joshua Chamblee has 16 catches for 414 yards, while Drew Thomas has eight for 144.
Leading the Leake defense are Allen Byrd with 42 tackles and Josh Brown with 38. Ben Melton and Jay Allen both have 36.
Leake defeated Canton 21-17 last fall to even the series at 10 wins apiece.
Edinburg at Nanih Waiya
Nanih Waiya looks to stay in the thick of the playoff picture when the Warriors host Edinburg in a Region 3-1A matchup. Nanih Waiya lost 28-6 at Puckett last week, while Edinburg was a 28-8 victim of Union.
Nanih Waiya is 3-2 in the region and 5-2 overall. Edinburg is 1-4 and 2-5.
The Warriors won 48-7 in 2001.
West Point at Louisville
Home field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs is at stake when Louisville hosts the Green Wave at R.E. Hinze Stadium. The Wildcats are 3-1 in Division 2-4A and 4-3 overall. West Point is tied for Noxubee County for the league lead at 3-0. The Green Wave is 6-1 overall with its lone loss coming to Starkville.
Louisville had two backs rush for over 100 yards last week. Corey Goss had 125 yards on 12 carries, while Derrell Ashford had 108 yards on 13 carries. Anthony Stanford completed 7-of-14 passes for 162 yards.
West Point's Cedric Wells ran 17 times for 126 yards a week ago.
Louisville won 7-0 last fall.
Kemper Academy at East Holmes
Kemper's 5-3 Rams travel to West to take on the 6-2 Raiders of East Holmes in a non-conference contest.
Kemper crushed Calhoun Academy 52-6 last week, while East Holmes lost 41-27 to Kirk Academy. Against Calhoun, Tim Kirkland of Kemper rushed a dozen times for 162 yards.
The two did not meet last year.