By By Marty Stamper / staff writer
Oct. 8, 2004
No matter how your week has gone, it had to be better than last Friday night for Davidson (La.) High School. Davidson was on the bad end of a 90-6 football loss to Sterlington (La.).
As for last week's picks, I'm not griping with 11 hits and only one miss (Quitman beating Northeast Lauderdale). For the year, that's 57 hits to go with 12 misses and one tie.
On to this week's picks:
Picayune at Meridian
The Wildcats jumped out to a 38-0 lead in drubbing Natchez 59-34 last week to improve to 4-0-1. Picayune (4-1) is a whole lot better than Natchez. If scores mean anything, Picayune is 22 points better than Natchez after beating the Bulldogs 28-6 two weeks ago.
That still leaves the Maroon Tide about three touchdowns behind Meridian.
Meridian has a 5-3 lead in a series that dates back to a 30-10 Picayune win in 1924.
The pick: Meridian
West Lauderdale at Newton
The Knights come in with a 4-2 record, while Newton is 1-5. They have common opponents in Enterprise and Philadelphia with West faring better both times.
Newton holds an 8-7 series edge for now.
The pick: West Lauderdale
Choctaw Central at
Southeast Lauderdale
The last time Choctaw Central (0-6) won a game it was against Southeast a year ago.
The loser of tonight's contest can plan on finishing in the Division 5-3A cellar. Choctaw has won all five previous meetings.
The pick: Southeast Lauderdale
Williams-Sullivan at
Clarkdale
It may be early October but it will seem like late December as Santa Claus comes to town in the form of the Williams-Sullivan Yellowjackets.
Clarkdale holds a 3-0 series lead, winning 50-6 in 2001, 41-0 in 2002, and 25-8 last year.
The pick: Clarkdale
Lamar at Wayne Academy
The Raiders of Lamar take a 3-3 record to Waynesboro to face the 6-1 Jaguars of Wayne. Wayne also holds a 14-9 series advantage.
The only problem is that Wayne is Class A and must beat Newton County Academy next week for the 5-A championship, while Lamar is Class AAA.
The pick: Lamar
Wayne County at
Northeast Lauderdale
Northeast has remarkably managed to go against my picks for much of this season. If that trend holds, they will be parading the goalposts up and down Briarwood Road tonight.
Wayne County won the only previous meetings 40-0 last year.
The pick: Wayne County
Neshoba Central at
Ridgeland
The Rockets found the win column for the first time last week by beating Canton with a strong second-half effort. In the only previous meeting, Neshoba won 20-10 last year. Look for Neshoba to stay in the playoff hunt another week.
The pick: Neshoba Central
Lake at Philadelphia
The Hornets of Lake had their chances to knock off both Morton and Raleigh in the first two weeks of the season. They haven't come within 14 points of a win since then.
Philadelphia racked up 50 points on Newton last week. The Tornadoes have a 4-0 series advantage.
The pick: Philadelphia
Morton at Newton County
The Cougars may be without several key players when they host Morton for homecoming tonight.
Still, Newton County has a good chance of winning out its final four games. The Cougars hold a 7-2 series lead over the Panthers.
The pick: Newton County
Rebul Academy at Newton County Academy
The cake and ice cream special of the week. The Generals of NCA are playoff bound, while the Raiders of Rebul are bound for nowhere.
Rebul has given up 66 and 69 points earlier this year, while NCA has racked up 64 and 54. The Generals have a 6-2 series lead.
The pick: Newton County Academy
Kemper Academy at Central Holmes
The Rams are 4-3 after knocking off Central Academy 24-18 last week. Central Holmes is 6-1 with a six-game win streak following a 36-6 season-opening loss to North Delta. Central Holmes leads the series 4-1.
The pick: Central Holmes
Union at Sebastopol
Another easy pick. Union is 6-0, while Sebastopol is 0-5. The Bobcats had last week off to iron out some of their many kinks. Union had most of the second half off after taking a 40-12 lead over Pisgah into halftime last week. Union has an 11-5 series lead.
The pick: Union
Quitman at Mendenhall
The Panthers take a 3-2 record to Simpson County to face the 1-5 Tigers, whose only win has come against Florence. But Mendenhall has faced a pretty stout schedule in Madison Central, Lawrence County, Pearl, West Jones and Northeast Jones.
The pick: Quitman