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It's time to separate the men from the boys with the second round of the MHSAA Class 6A Playoffs, and that's exactly what we're going to do this week with four fantastic games. Here's a quick look at the matchups and what we can expect to see this weekend.

6A North

Oxford (8-4) at Madison Central (10-1)

The Jaguars will be the heavy favorite going into Friday night’s quarterfinal game, if for nothing else the fact that Madison Central beat the breaks off of Oxford 48-7 just two weeks ago on Nov. 4.

The Chargers are a team that has gone through periods where they looked like the best team in the North, but had a couple of games where they didn’t look like a playoff team at all. The defending 6A North champs seem to rise and fall with the play of their quarterback duo of Trip Maxwell and Michael Harvey.

Madison Central is the most complete team in the North, at least on paper, with a rushing attack that is averaging north of 200 yards per game and a defense that has held nine out of 11 opponents under 20 points. Oxford will need to slow that running game down — or score a ton of points — to pull the upset.

Southaven (10-3) at Starkville (11-1)

Say what you want about Region 1, but it says a lot about the Chargers that they were the only team to come out with a win against a Region 2 opponent last week in the opening round of the 6A Playoffs.

The Chargers slipped by Clinton 14-10 in a game that was decided more by defensive prowess than overwhelming offense. They’ll have to switch gears and be prepared for a shootout with Starkville, which comes in as one of the hottest offensive teams in the state.

The Yellow Jackets put up 619 yards of total offense in their playoff-opening 63-21 win over Hernando, a team that Southaven defeated 16-9 back on Oct. 1. The Southaven defense will have to limit the production of that potent Starkville offense in order to give star quarterback Ja Kylan Robinzine, tailback Dillon Williams and the Charger offense a chance to compete.

6A South

Warren Central (9-3) at Brandon (9-2)

This all-Region 3 rematch is an intriguing game for several reasons, and not just because crazy games are a dime a dozen for Warren Central in the playoffs.

The Vikings are a team that is getting better and better. They are 5-1 since losing to Brandon 38-20 back on Oct. 1 and 5-0 since stunning Pearl in a 3-0 win on Oct. 15. After stumbling through the first half of the season offensively, the Viking offense has found some answers with Jack Wright at quarterback and scored 30 or more points in each of its last five games, including last week's 30-21 win over D'Iberville in the first round.

On the other side, the Bulldogs have won nine in a row after starting the season 0-2, but will have to rely on Jarvis Durr with bell-cow back Nate Blount sidelined by injury. The good news for Brandon is that the defense has played extremely well. They gave up a bunch of points in a 50-48 win over Northwest Rankin last month, but they gave the Cougars seven extra possessions in that game and have held their opponents to 17 points or less in three of their last four games.

If Brandon quarterback Landon Varnes comes out hot, that's a very, very good sign for the Bulldogs.

Oak Grove (10-2) at Ocean Springs (10-0)

This one is probably the most anticipated game in the state across all classifications, and it’s easy to see why.

Oak Grove, the reigning 6A State Champion, appears to have returned to form since losing 24-17 to Brandon on Oct. 22. The Warriors picked up a big win 36-25 win over Pearl, hung 55 points on Northwest Rankin and, last week, beat the brakes off of Gulfport 33-7 in the opening round of the playoffs. Kabe Barnett again looks like one of the best quarterbacks in the state, and the offensive line has come into its own in the past two games.

Ocean Springs is the consensus No. 1 team in the state, and the Greyhounds haven’t played a close game since the season-opening 45-44 win over Clinton. The offense has been prolific with sensational junior quarterback Bray Hubbard — the newly minted 6A Mr. Football Award winner — manning the helm, but they face a huge test against an Oak Grove defense that thrives on takeaways.

(Feature image by Keith Warren)