The Madison County Herald from Canton, Mississippi • Page 79

RANKNLEDGER.COM PORTS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2004 RANKIN LEDGER -6 1B Inside: High school previews, 3B www.rankinledser.com JACKSON PREP i -AX TV Pillow- pipp far stout matchup hasn't been a good indicator of the series. "It's been a good series lately, and they've gotten much better," he said. TO been hard to beat them. It's always been kind of a struggle to beat them. People were surprised when they made the playoffs (last year) because they thought Washington would be there." touchdowns through the air.

Wide receiver and kicker Swayze Waters has played a major role in putting points on the scoreboard for Jackson Prep. He has caught five touchdown passes, kicked six field goals and nine extra points for a total of 57 points this season. Waters has led the team in Both teams are 4-2 heading into Friday's contest, and both are coming off convincing wins. The Patriots shut down Presbyterian Christian, 39-7, and Pillow topped Heritage Academy 27-7. Black said the Patriots' offense played with a little more consistency last week, which receiving the last two years, and should do it again this season.

Black said he's their clutch player when a catch is needed in key situations. The offense has gotten better the last few weeks, but the defense has been strong the PREPVe23 BRANDON rebound at Oak Grove included a 55-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dudley Hutchinson. Jackson Prep has primarily used quarterback Stewart Hood this season. Hood can run the option and drop back to pass. He is currently second on the team with 241 yards rushing and leads the Patriots with 345 yards and five (5 V- St fir V-v JL must i JL 'fjK three times this season.

David said he was very similar to his own Jeremy Horton. "He's a back like Horton the size, the type of quickness and elu-siveness," Davis said. "The defensive line has to play well enough to contain the run. We're going to try Brandon's quarterback Gary Schaff hauser converts a two-point conversion Marshall move in during the Cougars win over the Bulldogs Friday night. Melanie Thortis I Rankin Ledger during the fourth quarter as Northwest Rankin's Demarco Clanton (44) and Elliot By Chris Whitaker cwhitakerrankinledger.com Jackson Prep has owned Pillow Academy over the years.

Leading the series 27-5, the Patriots handed Pillow two losses in 2003. Despite the record, Jackson Prep coach Ricky Black said that Dogs Brandon will face fiery attack By Chris Whitaker cwhitaker rankinledger.com The Brandon Bulldogs made a statement last week against Northwest Rankin. They can play with the top teams in the division. Owning the numbers and time of possession throughout the game, Brandon committed six turnovers and had a punt blocked for a score that led to 21 points, the difference in Brandon's 42-21 loss. Brandon coach Dan Davis said this week when the Bulldogs travel to Oak Grove, it's another chance for his team to step up and become a contender and not a pretender in the division.

"It's a very tough test. They're different in some ways than they've been in the past, but they still have an explosive offense," Davis said. Oak Grove trounced Hancock last week, 41-6, and the Warriors have quarterback Zack Harrington who has a deadly arm. Harrington has finally got his chance after watching Kyle Sellers set the standard at Oak Grove the last few years. "He throws the ball probably as good as Kyle Sellers," Davis said.

"This boy has sat back and waited his turn. He's not as mobile as Sellers, but he can move good around, and he has a stronger arm." Davis said Oak Grove's offense is fairly simple, and it will adjust to how the defense lines up. "This will be a tremendous test, Pirates Pearl dominates overall series Bv Chris Whitaker cwhltakerrankinledger.com This week's opponent for Pearl has been no match for the Pirates in the past. Bailey (2-4) has scored 34 points in the five-game series, all won by Pearl, but the Knights come in with two wins under their belt. "They're better than they've been being," Pearl coach Larry Weems said.

"We haven't seen them much, but they have got to be improved." The Pirates squandered two first-and-goal scoring opportunities last week in their 28-14 loss to Kosciusko. This week, quarterback Jeremy Harvey and the rest of the Pirates look to bounce back to improve to 3-1 in division play. "We're preparing for whatever they do," Weems said. "We don't know how they'll line up against the spread, but we'll see how they line up against it and the trips formation." Running back Phil Wheeler had another 100-yard performance against the Whippets last week, bringing his season total to 387 yards. While Wheeler has gotten the big yardage on the ground, Harvey and the Pearl receivers have quietly moved into the Pirai'es game plan.

to him, along with Lavon Spann and Kevin Varnell, to put pressure on the quarterback and contain the running game. "The defensive front has to help the secondary and put pressure on this guy to make bad throws," Davis said. "We can't have a break- a nightmare for our secondary," Davis said. "They're (Bulldogs secondary) probably thinking how many yards he'll get if I were in their shoes, that's what I'd be thinking." With Harrington, running back Hendrick Leverette has scored BRAND0N(2-4) at OAK GROVE (5-1) Series record: Oak Grove leads 3-1 Last year: Oak Grove 28, Brandon 7 Last Brandon win: 2001, 28-27 Longest Oak Grove winning streak: Biggest margin: 21, 2003; Oak Grove 28-7 Closest margin: 1, 2001, Brandon 28-27 Average score: Oak Grove 30, Brandon 19.3 down like we did the other night and give up big play. On offense, Horton has rushed for 830 yards on the season and crossed the goal nine times.

Northwest Rankin's running attack was able to exploit Oak Grove's defense in its 37-15 win, and the Bulldogs will need to have the same kind of performance from Horton and Avery Purvis. "Both are running the ball well, and Avery, slowly but surely, is catching on to be the tailback we thought he could be at the first of the year," Davis said. Purvis hasn't played since the eighth grade, and now a junior, he's carried 33 times for 216 yards. The biggest question mark for Brandon is how much confidence the team has, Davis said. "We still make errors that take you out of drives or gives the other team momentum.

We lack focus and concentration. Until we make a good play, it's going to be about them waiting for someone else to step up." Davis said this week can be their week if everything comes together. The Bulldogs dominated on both sides of the ball last week, but they must focus to avoid costly turnovers. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. WESSON (2-4) at McLAURIN (6-0) Series record: Wesson leads 4-3 Last year: Wesson 44-37 Last McLaurin win: 1997, 23-20 (20T) Longest Wesson winning streak: Longest McLaurin winning streak: 3, 1995-97 Biggest margin: 33, 2001, Wesson 40-7 Closest margin: 3, twice, 1995, McLaurin 18-15; 1997, McLaurin 23-20 (20T) Average score last five meetings: Wesson 30.8, McLaurin 13.4 games of throwing the football," Pruett said.

"It gives us more experience, so that when you get into the season, it's just like what we did at (the passing tourney)." Warren completed 71 percent of his passes (10 of 14) in last week's 47-0 shutout of St. Joseph, the team's fourth shutout of the season. Pruett said Warren has taken the responsibility of being a leader to heart and has done a good job of responding. "He stepped up to the plate in taking the responsibility and taking it serious," Pruett "He's throwing the football well, and he's able to get protection where it needs to be as far as pass blocking." McLAURINVe2B McLAURIN PEARL Bailey seriously Wesson looks to spoil Tigers' unbeaten mark and mix up calls and fool them with reads." Leading the defense is Blake Spiers. Spiers has 58 tackles on the season (43 unassisted) to go with a forced fumble and an interception.

Davis said Spiers has been consistent on defense, and he will look SprucaM. Derdenlll Special to Rankin Ledger during Friday night's game. Knights are more enthusiastic than in years past. Kickoff is 7:30 p.1 1 I 4 ai will take BAILEY (2-4) at PEARL (4-2) Series record: Pearl leads 5-0 Last year: Pearl 57-0 Biggest margin: 57, 2003, 57-0 Closest margin: 29, Pearl 35-6 Average score: Pearl 47.6, Bailey 6.8 Harvey has passed for 922 yards this year, and he has hooked up with Dycus Bridges, Rico Brown and Matt Lynch often. Bridges leads the team with 17 catches for 315 yards and four touchdowns while Brown has 16 receptions for 280 yards.

The Pirates will look to score early and often, and they hope the defense will give their offense good field position. Terrell Hobson had 2 1 tackles last week, bringinghis season total to 81. Weems said Hobson, as well as the rest of the team, has to step up and contain Bailey quarterback Isaiah Johnson. "He's a good athlete," Weems said. "He's a good runner, throws the ball well, and he seems to be the best player on offense.

We can't give him time back there." Weems said Johnson's a scrambling quarterback which doesn't bode well for the defense. The Pirates have given up nearly 230 yards on the ground this season, and Johnson will be another threat. "It all starts with him," Weems said. "He scrambled and ran for a lot of yards (against Kosciusko). We have to stop him and pressure hinl' We have to recognize what By Chris Whitaker cwhitakerrankinledger.com When McLaurin's "Big Three" aren't racking up rushing yards, it's been the passing connection of quarterback Tyler Warren to wide receiver Sean Brown that's been successful.

As the Tigers head into Friday's meeting with Wesson, War-; ren and Brown will look to pad the stats even more. Warren has passed for 410 yards this season and has a 10-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. McLaurin coach Steve Pruett said Warren's breakthrough has a lot to do with the passing tournament the team participated in this summer. "That's really helped him. It's helped the whole team to be honest," Pruett said.

"We've been able to defend the pass and throw the football some." Pruett said the 7-on-7 competition at the passing tournament allowed the team to learn how to read defenses and see what schemes secondaries may run. About eight teams participated in the event. Teams matched up with each other working on both the offensive and defensive schemes of the passing attack. Quarterbacks had limited time to pass as they worked on timing. "That gave us abut three full ft Pearl's Phil Wheeler runs for yardage they're doing and keep the integri- ty of lane responsibilities." Weiis said he can tell the.