The anticipation has been building for Friday night’s Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 6A, Region 1 showdown between third-ranked Tupelo and Columbus.
Columbus opened the season with some of the highest expectations in program history. At the midway mark of the schedule, the Falcons are at 3-2. Columbus easily could be 5-0. Its losses were to Noxubee County and West Point by a combined five points.
Tupelo is undefeated and will provide Columbus one of its biggest challenges to date. Columbus is 3-0 on the road and 0-2 at home this season.
While this is one the state’s marquee matchups, there will be several other good games Friday night.
Here is what we are watching for in Week No. 7:
Golden Wave or Falcons
Is Columbus ready?
For the second time this season, the statewide newspaper will be at Columbus High School for a home game.
Third-ranked Tupelo provides the opposition in a Class 6A, Region 1 game that might decide the region champion.
For Columbus, the task is to forget about last season’s 33-9 win at Tupelo. That game was over mighty early. This is a much different Golden Wave team.
Columbus has had slow starts this season. That is another thing they need to avoid.
Columbus has played in front of the two largest crowds in school history in its first two home games. However, the fans in purple and gold have left unhappy both times.
Friday night is a chance to change that.
Yellow Jackets or Cougars
Will Starkville have another ho-hum run to a Class 6A, Region 2 title?
Each season, Starkville’s region schedule looks similar to the projected path of a tropical storm. While the storm builds off the coast, Starkville racks up easy win after easy win. Then the storm makes its landfall and Starkville has a mad dash to the finish line with a series of quality opponents.
After opening region play with a victory against Callaway, Starkville goes back to work Friday night with a trip to Northwest Rankin.
Starkville is still learning about itself in a lot of areas, but some sophomores have emerged to put the team slightly ahead of the schedule.
In the end, Starkville should have a mighty fine October. The end of September won’t be bad, either.
Panthers or Patriots
Will Heritage Academy’s offense keep rolling right along?
The season’s biggest storyline might be the emergence of Heritage Academy.
Coach Sean Harrison has pushed the right buttons and the Patriots have put up some impressive numbers on offense.
Off to a 5-1 start, Heritage Academy will play its sixth game within the Golden Triangle on Friday night when West Lowndes comes to town.
West Lowndes has put together a strong start to the season, too.
When we saw West Lowndes last venture into the academy ranks, it dropped a 41-14 decision to Starkville Academy. Since Starkville Academy lost to Heritage Academy last week, that might not bode well for West Lowndes.
Raiders or Rams
Will Oak Hill Academy or Columbus Christian have a better chance at the playoffs?
We get that answer Friday night when the teams meet in Steens.
The teams have combined to 3-9 entering this Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class A/AA, District 2 game. However, each team has only played one district game, so there is plenty of time to change course.
When a team struggles, the missing component can sometimes be confidence. As the losses mount, players have to doubt what they are doing and have to doubt the overall talent level of their team.
We will see Friday night which team gets that precious momentum bump.
Tigers or Whippets
Will Noxubee County reel off another perfect run through Class 4A, Region 4 play?
More than likely, yes.
Despite a 2-4 record, one need not lose sight of Noxubee County’s ability to dominate against Class 4A competition. Inside this region, few teams have had any chance of beating the Tigers in quite some time.
Kosciusko is Friday night’s opponent. Even with home-field advantage, the Whippets are 1-5 and figure to have a hard time derailing the Tigers.
Whether Noxubee County can win a third-straight state championship likely will be decided in late November or early December. In the meanwhile, dominance inside the region should continue without pause.
Scott Walters is a sports writer for The Dispatch. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @dispatchscott.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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