By Staff
BIG GAIN – Clarkdale's Cedric Burns (11) finds a hole against West Lincoln in a game earlier this season. On Friday night the Bulldogs open region play when they host South Leake at 7:30 p.m. Photo by Paula Merritt/The Meridian Star
By Jeff Byrd / staff writer
Oct. 3, 2002
Northeast Lauderdale will seek to get back in the win column on Friday night when Florence visits Trojan Field for a key Region 5-4A game.
The Trojans took a hard 35-0 loss at the hands of 14th ranked and unbeaten West Jones last week in Soso. Northeast is now 3-2 on the season and 1-1 in region play.
Florence is 2-3 and 0-2 in the region after falling to Mendenhall 25-22 in overtime last week. It was third close game the Eagles have played in three weeks.
The two teams have a common opponent in West Lauderdale. Florence beat the Knights 17-7 in week one. Northeast downed West in Collinsville 14-7 in week three.
Trojan head coach Steve Nelson expects his team to bounce back from the West Jones defeat.
The Trojans are led by a defense that allowed just 13 points during a three-game winning streak. The front seven has Roger Lee at nose tackle and Tevio Durr (235) at down tackle. The four linebackers are Josh Pierce, Maurice Carlisle, Larry Hopson and Cedric Blanchard.
On offense, the Trojans like to pound away with 220-pound running back Marcus Betts. Betts had 77 yards on 15 carries in the West Jones game.
Quarterback Rod Wilson can get the ball deep to targets like Michael McShane who caught a 44-yard pass last week.
Lamar School at Central Private
Fresh off beating Parklane 14-7 last week, the Lamar Raiders head to Baton Rouge, La. Hurricane Lili, though, may have other ideas.
The Raiders are scheduled to tangle with Central Private in Baton Rouge, on Friday night in a key Academy AAA South Division game.
Lamar is coming off its biggest win of the season after downing Parklane in Meridian. The Raiders used a pair of second quarter breaks to get both touchdowns.
Central Private presents another challenge. They are 4-2 on the season and 3-0 in the Academy AAA South. They have averaged 32 points a game in league play including last week's 42-22 thumping of Copiah Academy.
Lamar, 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the AAA-South, is led by quarterback Drew Moffett. The junior has thrown for 930 yards after completing 66-of-137 passes. He has also rushed for 300 yards.
Wide receiver Daniel Harrison has 516 yards receiving off 29 catches. Lane Rush keys the ground game with 426 yards.
Defensive tackle Drew Denney is the East Mississippi Group Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season.
Philadelphia
at West Lauderdale
The offense of the West Lauderdale continues to struggle. The best cure may not be an angry team from Philadelphia.
Philadelphia was jolted last week by a stunning 36-11 loss to then 1-3 Carthage. The loss was the first of the season for Philly after four wins to open the season.
West Lauderdale is 1-4 after gaining just 47 yards in a 28-0 loss to second ranked in 3A Newton County. The Knights have scored just one touchdown in two region games to date.
The Tornadoes have a potent offense led by arguably the region's top player in quarterback Tyler Threadgill. Threadgill has a league high 50 points off seven touchdowns and four field goals.
West is averaging just 8.6 points a game. They have also lost all five previous meetings with Philadelphia.
South Leake
at Clarkdale
Clarkdale looks to get back to winning this week when South Leake visits for the first Region 5-2A game of the season on Friday.
Clarkdale comes in at 3-2 after getting beat 17-0 at McLaurin last week. South Leake is also 3-2.
One of South Leake's losses was a 52-6 rout by 5-0 Velma Jackson. Aside from that defeat, South Leake has averaged over 20 points in the other four games.
The Bulldogs are led by Kevin Matthews who has rushed for over 200 yards in a three-game span. Quarterback Justin Culpepper directs the offense.
Southeast Lauderdale
at Bruce
Southeast tries to snap a four-game losing streak by taking a trip to 1A Bruce this Friday.
The Tigers played hard and gave Heidelberg fits before falling 14-6 in Heidelberg. Southeast is now 0-2 in Region 5-3A play.
Quarterback Drew Harper and running back Andy Landrum key the attack.