Best bets: Top 5 playoff games to watch this weekend in Mississippi high school football (Nov. 19)
We're down to eight teams in each classification as the 2021 MHSAA Football Playoffs roll into the North and South-State Semifinal Round this Friday night. Here's a look at the top five games we'll be watching, and why they are so important.
TOP 5 GAMES TO WATCH IN MHSAA SEMIFINALS
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.
Laurel (9-3) at West Jones (9-2)
It doesn’t get any bigger in Jones County than when the Tornadoes and Mustangs lock horns, and the situation will be at fever-pitch Friday with a trip to 5A South State on the line.
Laurel has looked great since losing the regular-season matchup to the Mustangs 24-21 on Oct. 22. The Tornadoes won a close 21-18 game against Wayne County, then exploded for half-a-hundred points and brow-beat Hattiesburg 50-0 before dismantling George County 59-20 in the first round of the playoffs last week. Tailback Kiron Benjamin has looked unstoppable over that stretch, running behind an offensive line that has incredible size and strength.
Reigning 5A state champion West Jones has been in dog-fight after dog-fight since losing all-everything tailback and safety Kendorian Russell to a torn ACL in mid-October. All four of their games since then have come down to one score, but they are 3-1 in that stretch. The key to this game will be how many defenders it takes to contain Benjamin and that Laurel running game. If it takes stacking eight guys in the box, the Tornadoes are good enough on the outside to make the Mustangs pay.
Biggersville (10-2) at Simmons (11-0)
Perennial powerhouse Simmons comes in as the heavy favorite against the reigning 1A North Champions after missing most of last season due to COVID-19.
Led by 1A Mr. Football Vontrez Rush, the Blue Devils have out-scored their 11 opponents by a combined 572 to 26. Rush is the real deal — he has racked up 1,946 all-purpose yards and accounted for 30 touchdowns and doubles as the team’s best corner.
Biggersville counters with an offense that has scored three or more touchdowns in all 11 games this season with sophomore quarterback Drew Rowsey at the helm. To get to the second round, the Lions won a tight one 28-24 over South Delta, a team Simmons blasted 42-14 back on Sept. 24.
Louisville (10-2) at Caledonia (10-1)
Caledonia is in completely uncharted territory coming into a game against the reigning 4A State Champions, but this one is anything but a given.
The Cavaliers went 8-1 in the regular season before notching a 31-24 victory over Kosciusko in the first round of the playoffs that gave the program its first playoff win in school history. They went on to beat Pontotoc 27-8 last week to get into the North State Semifinal.
Caledonia averaged 39.2 points a game offensively, and they’ll need that to carry over against a Louisville defense that has stymied nearly every opponent they’ve faced. The Wildcats have given up 30 points just once this season, and have held six of their 12 opponents to seven points or fewer.
Scott Central (12-0) at Newton (7-4)
Scott Central looks like the team to beat in 2A South, but we’re not ready to write off the Tigers in this one just yet.
Newton comes into Friday’s game as a major underdog, but is playing some of its best football over the last month. The Tigers put up a combined 128 points in wins over Port Gibson, Philadelphia and Mize, then curb-stomped Pisgah 48-14 in the first round last week.
They’ll need a similar offensive performance to hang with Scott Central, who have looked unstoppable with quarterback Quez Goss behind center. The Rebel quarterback has thrown for 2,169 yards and 30 touchdowns as a junior and has yet to find a defender he couldn’t truck-stick.
