By Staff
LOOKING FOR A BIG PLAY Lamar School quarterback Drew Moffett (3) sets to throw a pass in the Raiders' game last week against Columbia Academy. Lamar travels to play Madison-Ridgeland Academy on Friday. Photo by Paula Merritt/The Meridian Star
By Will Bardwell / staff writer
Sept. 18, 2003
The Lamar School Raiders will look to follow up on a blowout win when they travel to Madison to face Madison-Ridgeland Academy on Friday.
In other local action, Southeast Lauderdale travels to Forest, Clarkdale hosts Mercy Cross, Choctaw Central is at West Lauderdale, and Northeast Jones is at Northeast Lauderdale.
Lamar is 3-1 coming off a 42-14 win over Columbia Academy last week. The Raiders were almost flawless on both sides of the ball, amassing a 42-0 lead at the half.
Barnes said his team will need a similar effort if they are to knock off undefeated MRA, which has beaten Lamar the past two seasons.
Barnes admits that may be easier said than done. MRA is averaging nearly 30 points per game, and Barnes said wide receiver Phillip Harrison may be the best wide receiver in the state.
The Raiders will go into the game missing three injured starters, but may not be without them as long as they had feared. Barnes said that the injured players defensive back Scott Owen and wide receiver David Haggard with ankle injuries, and offensive lineman Kemp Mosley with a knee injury will not miss the entire season and could return in about three weeks.
SE Lauderdale at Forest
After picking up its first win of the season last week, Southeast Lauderdale visits Forest on Friday for their first division game of the season.
Tigers head coach Dwane Taylor, whose team is 1-2 after a 25-0 win over Clarkdale last Thursday, said his offensive line is blocking better than they have all season.
Southeast Lauderdale had more rushing touchdowns in the Clarkdale game three than they had scored in both their previous contests. While Taylor said he wants to continue running the ball, he also wants to give opponents a few new looks.
The Tigers will face an offense also looking to find itself. After shutting out Newton 24-0 in their season opener, Forest's scoring production has decreased by half each game. The Bearcats beat Neshoba Central 12-9 on Sept. 5 and tied Prentiss 6-6 on Friday.
Still, Taylor is not downplaying Forest's ability.
Taylor said his defense can help themselves by forcing the Bearcats into long yardage situations.
Mercy Cross at Clarkdale
Clarkdale will host Mercy Cross in their homecoming game on Friday, and head coach Joey Ethridge hopes the offense is coming too.
Ethridge said Mercy Cross may allow the Bulldogs to improve in that area.
Clarkdale will rely on its defense to stop Mercy Cross' running game and disrupt the offense.
Ethridge said he hopes the emotion surrounding homecoming at Clarkdale will spill over and help his team get over the hump.
Choctaw Central at W. Lauderdale
West Lauderdale's defense has dominated opponents in 2003, and the Knights hope to continue the trend when Choctaw Central visits on Friday.
Last week, the Knights faced one of the area's most dominant rushing offenses in Enterprise, and shut out the Bulldogs 21-0.
Now 2-1, West Lauderdale looks to contain an offense that put up 44 points against Kemper County on Sept. 5. Last week, Choctaw Central took a 14-7 win over Cherokee (N.C.)
The Knights have not surrendered a passing touchdown since the third quarter of the season opener against Clarkdale on Aug. 28. The only rushing touchdown that the defense has yielded came the next week in a 7-6 loss to Philadelphia.
Choctaw Central is 2-1.
NE Jones at NE Lauderdale
Northeast Lauderdale will look to even its record in its first division game of the season when the Trojans host Northeast Jones on Friday night.
Northeast Lauderdale head coach Steve Nelson, whose Trojans are 1-2, hopes to cut down on his team's turnovers after the Trojans gave up four last Friday in a 30-20 loss to Newton County.
Former Clarkdale head coach Bubba Hathorn is in his first year as head coach at Northeast Jones.