Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters will look at five prep football questions each Wednesday between now and Aug. 17, 2018, as we count down to the start of the prep football season.
Well it’s Wednesday and that can only mean one thing.
Time to continue our countdown towards the prep football season with another set of questions.
So here goes:
1. What is our best game for the opening week of the season?
Well copy and paste time here. It is once again, the epic throwdown between Noxubee County and Starkville at Yellow Jacket Stadium.
Noxubee County won the MHSAA Class 4A state championship last season and will be an odds-on favorite this season.
Starkville will be the clear-cut favorite in Class 6A.
There is a chance for as many as a dozen Division I prospects to be on the field in the latests installment of quite the rivalry.
If Gavin Gilbert decides to put any extra press box seats on Ebay, better look for the “buy now” option.
2. Can Columbus return to the Class 6A playoffs?
Kylin Hill helped lead Columbus to back-to-back playoff appearances in 2015 and 2016.
Things then fell off last season with a 2-9 finish, snuffing what would have been the program’s first three-year playoff run.
In the year ahead, there are several questions, including the quarterback spot.
You also have first-year coach Eric Rice installing his system.
With Hill in the backfield, line deficiencies were easy to overcome. Last year not so much.
It does appear Region 1-6A will be a little less intimidating this season.
Horn Lake is the clear-cut favorite in the region. Tupelo and South Panola will most likely play like Tupelo and South Panola.
Let’s put Columbus in at fourth.
3. So who has the upper hand in the Heritage Academy-Starkville Academy rivalry this season?
Perhaps the best question yet. Let’s go ever so slight edge to Heritage, based on returnees.
Both teams will be filled with lots of youth.
Sean Harrison at Heritage Academy and Chase Nicholson at Starkville Academy have really raised the bar. Each year, there two teams are state title contenders.
The head-to-head battle will most likely decide the region champion.
The winner there will also have an inside track to play for a state title.
SA won that title last year.
4. Is there anything better than a 9:30 p.m. kickoff at Hernando?
If you have to play at 9:30 p.m., do it two hours from home at least.
Credit to both coaching staffs for making sure Columbus and Hernando did play and played in a safe environment last season.
Neither team made the playoffs but seniors always want to play that final game.
There is nothing like getting in your car and checking on other area games on the radio.
Apparently, 9:30 p.m. starts are excellent for a listening audience.
To the people who listened and sent text messages around midnight, both WMSV and I thank you.
5. Do you enjoy tweeting during games?
It is challenging but consider it a labor of love.
Nothing warms the heart like a player retweeting you after a game.
Our job is to entertain and inform. Twitter lets you do both.
Scott Walters is a sports reporter for the Commercial Dispatch. He may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @dispatchscott.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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