By By Dale McKee / EMG sports writer
Oct. 25, 2002
The top-ranked Wayne County War Eagles will travel to Hattiesburg to battle the much improved Hattiesburg High Tigers tonight.
Wayne County (8-0, 4-0) will face a Tiger team that has won three straight (3-5, 3-1). In other local action, Seminary (8-0) travels to Taylorsville (5-3) in an important Region 7 2A matchup.
The War Eagles are coming off an emotional 28-7 win over Oak Grove. The win over Oak Grove leaves the War Eagles as the only undefeated team in Region 3 5A. Oak Grove, Hattiesburg, and Brandon are all 3-1.
Hattiesburg stretched its winning steak to three games as senior quarterback Martin Hankins fired three touchdowns passes and passed for 304 yards.
Wayne County dominated both lines of scrimmage to secure the Oak Grove win in Waynesboro before 8,000 fans.
The War Eagle defense played its finest game, holding the Warriors to only one score and 127 yards passing in the game. Kyle Sellers was 9 of 26 passing in the game.
Wayne County's Akeem Lofton had touchdown runs of 15 and 20 yards plus Michael McLaughlin had a seven yard run. Kevin Johnson scored on a 96-yard interception run on the last play of the half to help the War Eagles break the game open. Colby Hendry was four of four on extra points.
Mendenhall at Quitman
The Panthers of Quitman High School play host to an important Region 5-4A game tonight when they play host to Mendenhall.
Both teams are 3-1 in region play and the winner will wrap up second place in the league and guarantee themselves a home game in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs. West Jones currently leads the league with a 4-0 record and has beaten both Mendenhall and Quitman.
Last week Quitman jumped out to a 20-0 lead over Northeast Jones, then held on for a 20-17 win over the Tigers. Mendenhall beat Northeast Lauderdale 25-7.
Bassfield at Enterprise
The Bulldogs of EHS can stay in the hunt for the Region 7-2A title and a home playoff spot with a win over the visiting Yellowjackets of Bassfield.
Enterprise goes into the game with a 2-1 league mark and 6-2 overall record, while Bassfield, once a Class 2A power, is just 1-7 overall and 0-3 in region competition.
Last week Enterprise dropped a tough, hard-fought contest to Taylorsville by the score of 16-14.
Kemper Academy at Wayne Academy
Wayne (6-3, 4-1) needs a win over Kemper (5-4, 4-2) to secure the second place playoff spot.
A loss by Wayne would leave Kemper, Winston, and the Jaguars all tied for second with two losses. Then the MPSA tiebreaker system would be used to select the playoff team.
Wayne Academy is coming off a big win over Macon Central 40-6. Wayne jumped out to 21-0 first period lead and upped that margin to 34-0 at intermission.
Kemper lost to East Holmes 27-25 last week. Wayne won last season's matchup 46-12. The Rams are led by Tim Kirkland and Kyle Davis. Davis scored twice in last week's loss to EH. Kirkland has scored 52 points on the season while Davis has 42.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. in the Jungle.
Newton Academy at Sylva-Bay
The Saints started out 2-0 but after a loss to Wayne in game three the Saints have won only once. Newton was blasted by Winston 62-13 last week.
East Rankin at Heidelberg Academy
Heidelberg Academy, at 8-l overall, has already wrapped up a playoff spot by winning the district crown. The Rebels HA blanked cross county rival Sylva-Bay 35-0 last time out. The Rebels will host East Rankin this week. East Rankin is coming off its first victory of the year a 41-14 win over Chamberlin Hunt.
East Rankin is led by Steven Boozer. The 6-foot-6, 245-pound Boozer plays tight end. He is an also an all-state performer in track and basketball. Memphis, MSU, USM,and Ole Miss are all interested in Boozer.
The Rebels have clinched the district title for the third straight year. Heidelberg has also gone undefeated in division play for the third straight year.
The Rebels got two rushing touchdowns from Brent Welch plus Matt Andrews caught two touchdowns passes to lead the Rebels. Blake Bass caught Brooks Lewis third touchdown pass of the game to round out the scoring against the Saints.
Bay Springs at Sumrall
The winner of this game will probably make the playoffs as the fourth and final playoff team from Region 7 2A.
Bay Springs lost to unbeaten Seminary last week 26-21 while Sumrall ended a five game losing streak with a win over Bassfield 33-25.
Bay Springs had touchdown passes of 91 and 82 yards. LeStephen McCullum threw the 91-yarder to Ronnie McCullum and the 82-yarder to Sam Farrell. Josh Crosby had a 7-yard run for the other Bulldog touchdown.
Sumrall had a big game from Michael Herrington.
Seminary at Taylorsville
The Tartars will host unbeaten Seminary this Friday night in Taylorsville.
Taylorsville edged Enterprise 16-14 to climb into second place in the Region 7 2A race behind Seminary.
Enterprise jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but the Tartars came storming back and scored 16 unanswered points to gain a big road win in the region. Mathis and McGill scored touchdowns for the winners, and the defense, led by Page, recorded a safety. Seminary was led by Corey Cooley who rushed for 183 yards.
and scored on runs of one and 58 yards to lead Seminary past Bay Springs 26-21 last week.
West Lincoln at Stringer
Stringer went on the road last week and dropped a Region 4 1A contest to Natchez Cathedral 40-16.
Cathedral led 26-0 at intermission. In the second half, Stringer scored on Tipston Garner runs of 8 and 45 yards. Josh Anderson and Ishee added two-point conversions for the Red Devils.
Dexter beat Lincoln last week 28-20. It will be the Red Devils' Homecoming game.