By Staff
from staff reports
Nov. 5, 2004
Though this will only be the fourth meeting between the two, the Newton County Cougars and Collins Tigers have developed a high-stakes rivalry over the last five years. Tonight's game is the fourth time the two teams have met in the playoffs.
In 2000, Newton County took a 7-0 first-round win at Decatur. In 2001, Collins won 19-12 at Decatur in the third round. In 2002, the Tigers cruised to a 46-0 win at Collins.
Leading Collins is Dandy Dozen center Josh McNeil. Tim Barnes has rushed for 13 touchdowns, while Jonathan Booth has rushed for nine. Jeremy Keys has run for six TDs and thrown for two others. Channy Barnes has rushed for five TDs. Maurice Owens has thrown four touchdown passes.
Leading the Cougars in scoring is senior quarterback Colby Amis with 11 touchdowns. He's thrown two TD passes. Tailback Duke Hudnall has rushed for seven touchdowns and scored another on an interception return. Austin Scoggins has kicked 29 extra points and one field goal.
Marty Stamper
Madison St. Joseph at Philadelphia
Philadelphia went 9-1 during the regular season, losing only to unbeaten Class 3A power Forest.
The Bruins of St. Joseph finished 5-5, a big step up from last year's 1-8 showing.
Philadelphia, on the other hand, is looking to make a long playoff run. Recent history hasn't been kind to the Tornadoes in the playoffs where they have only two wins in their last nine games.
Running back Talmer Burnside leads the Tornadoes in scoring with 15 touchdowns and 1,079 yards on 138 carries. Running back Tuntdrick Burnside has six TDs and 413 yards on 40 carries. Wide receiver Jeremy Holmes and fullback Dustin Crockett also have six TDs each. Crockett has rushed 93 times for 539 yards. Tight end Landon Gilmer and wide receiver Cameron Gates both have four TDs. Quarterback Porter Jordan is 43-of-87 passing for 913 yards and 13 touchdowns to go with just two interceptions.
Leading the Bruins is wide receiver George Malouf with six touchdowns. He's also kicked six field goals. Quarterback Joseph Shirley and running backs Bryndon Blasingame, Jake Sprinkle and Terrance Bailey have each scored three touchdowns.
Marty Stamper
Newton at McLaurin
Newton dropped to 3-7 after blowing a 27-13 halftime lead last week at Clarkdale. McLaurin is 9-1, losing only to unbeaten St. Andrew's of Ridgeland in a 22-21 thriller for the Division 6-2A championship.
The teams have met only once previously, with Newton taking a 32-0 win in the first round of the 2001 playoffs.
Leading Newton in scoring are Montez Moore with six touchdowns, Jamie Lay with five and Tyrone Waters with four. Courtney Ruffin has thrown eight touchdown passes.
McLaurin has three players with at least 10 touchdowns each. Running back Tyra Enoch has 13, running back Devin Quick has 12 and wide receiver Sean Brown has 10. Quarterback Tyler Warren has thrown 17 touchdown passes and has run for a pair of scores.
Marty Stamper
Enterprise at Lumberton
Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Last week, the Enterprise High School Bulldogs closed its regular season with a 60-6 loss to No. 1-ranked Seminary. Tonight, Enterprise is on the road in the first round of the state playoffs against No. 3-ranked Lumberton, which comes in with a 9-1 record.
Injuries have been the downfall of the 2004 Enterprise football season. It started with the Bulldogs' opener at Southeast Lauderdale in which four players ended up in the hospital, and has not let up. Midways through the season, senior quarterback Wade Weathers went out with a broken hand and has been limited to his place kicking duties ever since, with Blake Hennington taking the snaps.
During Lumberton's 47-7 win over Mercy Cross last season, junior running back Terry Grant scored four touchdowns on runs of 44, 68, 10 and 62 yards.
Steve Swogetinsky
Lamar at Hillcrest Christian
The Raiders of Lamar will travel to take on Hillcrest Christian in a tune-up before next week's playoff matchup with Magnolia Heights.
Lamar will try to continue its success and avoid injuries in tonight's regular-season finale.
Hillcrest hasn't had the same luck with injuries this season. The Cougars lost four players to injuries they suffered in a car crash after the fifth week of the season. Three of the players are back but missed a lot of time, and Hillcrest also suffered several injuries the past two weeks.
Hillcrest will use its size to try to counter its lack of skill position players.
The opportunity to play another large line will help the Raiders prepare for the postseason.
For the Raiders, quarterback Scott Owen leads the team with 571 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, while Parker Payne has 473 yards and four touchdowns. Owen has completed 114-of-214 passes for 1773 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Brannon Harrison has 31 catches for 359 yards. Dustin Gray has 26 receptions for 690 yards, and Dustin Rivers has 21 catches for 266 yards.
Ryan Satcher