Teams prepare for postseason football
Four high school football teams in Marshall County are moving on to the state playoffs this week.
In the northern part of the county, coach Mario Lane has H.W. Byers hosting a Class 1A post-season game in his first year at the helm of the Lions.
Byers blanked Ashland 41-0 Thursday night, Oct. 30, to finish 6-3 in the regular season and second in District 2-1A. The Lions led 13-0 at halftime and turned it up a notch in the final 24 minutes, outscoring the Devils 28-0. Corey Willis was 11 of 13 passing for 254 yards and four touchdowns. KeSean Lafrance had 19 carries for 110 yards and two scores. Jessie Hughes had eight tackles, two tackles for loss and an interception.
Coach Lane’s squad will host a familiar foe in round one when Smithville makes their second bus ride this season from Monroe County to the Byers campus. The Lions knocked off the Seminoles 32- 28 back on October 9 at home. Smithville ended the regular season with a 3-7 record.
“Well, what I do know is that it’s very hard to beat a team twice in one year,” Lane said. “We will have to focus on playing mistake-free football and not giving up any big plays. This time of year, it’s going to be important to get your running game established early in the game.”
The Byers-Smithville winner in the Mississippi High School Activities Association playoffs will meet the Vardaman-Leflore County winner in round two November 14.
Marshall Academy is back in familiar territory, the state football playoffs. The Patriots will travel to Central Hinds this Friday in the quarter-finals of the Class 3A Division II bracket.
The Patriots concluded the regular season with a 53-6 loss at Washington School in Greenville. MA’s lone points came on an 88-yard pass from Savion McGhee to Trace Fox in the first quarter. They finished fifth overall in power points in Class 3A of the Mid- South Association of Independent Schools, which puts them as the top seed in the eight-team Division II bracket.
Marshall enters the playoffs at 8-2 overall and Central Hinds 5-6. The winner will face the Rossville Christian Academy- Bowling Green School winner in the semi-finals November 14.
Potts Camp, which placed third in District 2-1A, will travel east on I-22 this Friday night to face Tupelo Christian Preparatory School in the first round of the MHSAA postseason.
The Cardinals fell 50-27 to Falkner, the district champion, last week. Jeffrey Curry had another strong night on the ground, carrying 12 times for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Coach Chris Daniels’ team ran the football 25 times for 323 yards and four scores. Also carrying for touchdowns were Aaron Gilmer and Dayton Marion. Gilmer was six of seven passing for 43 yards. Jeremiah Nelson caught three of the six completions.
The Cardinals are 3-5 entering the playoffs, while the TCPS Eagles are 6-4. The winner will meet the Calhoun City-French Camp winner in round two November 14.
The Holly Springs Hawks, 0-10 on the season, are playoff bound as the fourth-place squad in District 2-3A. They will travel to Kossuth this Friday night to face the Aggies, who are 7-2 overall and the District 1-3A champions.
Coach Clifford Brown’s Hawks, with just three seniors on the team, wrapped up the regular season last Thursday with a 38-14 loss to North Panola. Holly Springs’ touchdowns came on a pass from Martavion Davis to Chardarius Faulkner and a run by Kyson Isom. Isom also carried for a two-point conversion after his touchdown.
Coach Brown said his Hawks played better overall as a team versus the Cougars, and he hopes that carries over into the post-season.
The winner of the Holly Springs-Kossuth MHSAA playoff contest will go against the Choctaw County-Edwards winner round two November 15.
Ashland, from neighboring Benton County, is also heading to the MHSAA playoffs this Friday night as the fourth place team in the District 2-1A. The Devils, 0-9, visit Biggersville, 9- 1. The winner faces the West Lowndes-Coffeeville winner in round two November 14.