By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
Oct. 30, 2003
Philadelphia and Kemper County get the jump on area football teams when the teams finish out the regular seasons tonight at Harpole Stadium in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia whipped Williams-Sullivan 38-12 last week to improve to 7-2 overall. At 4-0 in league play, the Tornadoes have already clinched the Division 5-2A championship and will host the No. 4 team from Division 8-2A (St. John, Richton or Perry Central) in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs next week.
In beating Williams-Sullivan, Porter Jordan threw three touchdown passes and was 5-of-9 for 78 yards. Jordan also kicked a 33-yard field goal.
For the year, Desmond Murray has rushed for 1,148 yards on 172 carries for the Tornadoes. Jordan is 30-of-75 passing for 449 yards and five touchdowns.
Defensive leaders for Philadelphia are Jamaal Peebles with 106 tackles, Jeremy Boler with 63, and Anthony Gray and James Seales with 58 each.
Kemper County comes in 2-7 overall after knocking off Clarkdale 18-12 last week. The Wildcats are in a four-way tie for second place at 2-2 in 5-2A.
Top players for Kemper are seniors Kevin Rush and Andrew Harrington, along with freshmen Derek Welch, Jevorius Prince and Marcus Green.
Philadelphia has a 6-0 lead in the series.
Bailey
at Neshoba Central
The Rockets can wrap up their first playoff berth since 1997 when they host winless Bailey Friday night.
Neshoba dropped to 4-5 with last week's 21-8 loss at Kosciusko. Bailey fell to 0-9 with a 34-0 loss to Ridgeland. In losing to the Titans, Bailey's losing streak reached 19 games.
The Knights had minus five yards total offense in the first half. Their first first down came with 2:38 left in the game. Of Bailey's 38 yards total offense for the game, 29 came on one play. Ridgeland, meanwhile, scored on its first five possessions and didn't punt until the 10:32 mark of the fourth quarter. The Titans rushed for 274 yards.
Leading the Rockets on offense are Kevin Marshall with 894 yards on 184 carries and Kyle Vowell with 333 yards on 75 rushes. Vowell is 3-of-22 passing for 31 yards. Taylor Petty is 8-of-38 for 105 yards.
Defensively, Jason Yarbrough and Josh Moore both have 67 tackles, while Marshall and Jason Goodin both have 58. Titus Clark has 57.
Simpson Academy
at Leake Academy
After being knocked out of the playoff picture with a 12-7 loss at Heritage Academy last week at Columbus, the Rebels close out their season by hosting unbeaten Simpson Friday at Madden.
Simpson comes in 9-0 and has outscored its opponents 411-50.
Leake dropped to 7-3 with its loss to Heritage. The Rebels led 7-0 at halftime. Leake fumbled at its 20 on the first play of the third quarter and Heritage went on to score a pair of touchdowns.
Simpson holds a 7-2 lead in the series. Leake won the first two meetings in 1974 and 1975, but the Cougars have won all seven games since the series resumed in 1996.
Noxapater
at Thomastown
Noxapater will try to derail Thomastown's playoff hopes when the Tigers travel to Leake County.
Noxapater enters the game 3-5 in Region 3-1A and 4-5 overall. Thomastown is 4-4 and 5-4.
Thomastown spanked Edinburg 47-0 last week, while Noxapater nipped Sebastopol 12-6.
Nanih Waiya
at Pisgah
Nanih Waiya seeks to keep its playoff hopes alive when the Warriors go to Pisgah.
Nanih Waiya is 5-3 in Region 3-1A and 6-3 overall, while Pisgah is 3-5 both overall and in league play.
The Warriors routed Pelahatchie 43-12 last week, while Pisgah had an open date.
Louisville
at Ridgeland
The Wildcats buried Canton 55-7 last week to improve to 6-3 overall and 4-1 in Division 4-4A. Ridgeland enters the game at 4-5 and 2-3 after blanking Bailey 34-0.
Kemper Academy
The Rams completed their season with a 3-7 record after losing 37-8 to Wayne Academy last week.
Winston Academy
The Patriots finished their year at 4-6 by beating Central Academy 20-6 last week.