By By Will Bardwell / staff writer
Sept. 11, 2003
Joel Speed's strategy for Friday's home game against West Lauderdale may be the worst kept secret in Mississippi high school football.
Looking to force that change is a West Lauderdale defense that has been equally dominant against opposing running backs.
Also in local action are Newton County at Northeast Lauderdale and Columbia Academy at Lamar School . Clarkdale is at Southeast Lauderdale tonight.
The Knights, whose record is 1-1, have allowed only two touchdowns this season in a 19-7 win over Clarkdale and a 7-6 loss to Philadelphia on Friday.
West Lauderdale' offense is what has McCain's attention. In last week's game, a failed extra point attempt on the Knights' only touchdown of the game was the margin of victory for Philadelphia.
McCain said his offense returned less than half its starters from a year ago, but he has confidence the squad will be putting up more points soon.
Speed, whose Bulldogs have given up only 19 points in their first two games, said the game will likely be determined by defense.
Newton County
at Northeast Lauderdale
A win will do a lot for a team's morale, and Steve Nelson knows it.
After losing 23-0 to Northwest Rankin in their first game, the Trojans rebounded on Friday on both sides of the ball. Their offense, inconsistent a week earlier, sustained long drives and also showed quick strike ability.
Nelson said he hopes that improvement will carry over for their game against the Cougars.
Newton County head coach Jeff Breland has focused his practices on stopping the Trojans' shotgun offense.
Breland said his offense, whose fourth-quarter touchdown on Friday was its first of the season, is young but has also been hampered by tough competition.
Columbia Academy at
Lamar School
After a humbling 38-13 loss at Jackson Prep a week ago, the Lamar Raiders return for homecoming on Friday in search of a win against Columbia Academy.
Raiders head coach Mac Barnes said his team's poor performance in Jackson was more disappointing than the loss itself.
Columbia will not make Lamar's job easy. The Cougars, 3-0 on the year, began the season by upsetting defending Class A state champions Heidelberg Academy.
That task is more difficult than it would have been one week ago. Three Lamar seniors offensive lineman Kemp Mosley, defensive back Scott Owen and wide receiver David Haggard suffered serious injuries against Prep and are out indefinitely.
Barnes hopes only that the Raiders learned their lesson against Jackson Prep.
Clarkdale at
Southeast Lauderdale
Joey Ethridge will coach his first game as head coach of the Clarkdale Bulldogs tonight when his team visits Southeast Lauderdale.
Ethridge was named head coach on Friday after former head coach Gary Lee left the team unexpectedly.
Both teams enter the game 0-2. The game is the final Thursday night game of the season for Clarkdale, whose first two games were also on Thursday nights.