In Case You Missed Friday Night: Clinton @ Madison Central

1. The Jags got their season back on track this past week, beating the Clinton Arrows 35-17. A quick observation on the game: While 35-17 seems like a normal "good team beats worse team" score, it's not. The Jags dominated every side of the football, and Clinton had no hope of winning by halftime. I detail just how complete this victory was below.
2. We'll start on defense. In what has become a strength of the defense the past week, the defensive line had another stellar performance. Frederrick Ross and Gemarta Jackson combined for 3 sacks as the Jags defensive line became a mainstay in the Arrow backfield. The linebackers came through with another solid outing; Brion Ballard had key tackle after key tackle. Ballard racked up 10 total tackles while Dee Johnson had 8. The defense stepped it up big time after being picked apart by West Monroe, as that game is starting to seem like more of an afterthought now.
3. The offense looked well-oiled this past Friday night; Clinton could not find a way to stop Schwartz and co. In fact, the only team that stopped MC was MC itself. The Jags accounted for an astounding 505 total yards on offense and ran 72 plays in offense (a rather large amount for a high school football team). Coach Bobby Hall truly has an array of offensive weapons that can all dissect a defense to choose from: Jake Schwartz, Doug Ball, Daniel Goodspeed (or as many, including the referees, know him "Moose"), Keith Williams, Xavier Watson, and Kelvin Williams. If this offense can continue to produce, MC's chances to win and win big increase drastically.
4. Now not everything is rosy. The Jags again gave up big plays. This, if anything, has become the Achilles's Heel for Madison Central. MC gave up a kick-off return to their own 3 yard line immediately after a game-opening touchdown drive. Schwartz also threw a pick-six on the Arrow's goaline. Bottom line: You just spotted the other team 14 points. You can't spot teams like South Panola and Olive Branch 14 points. That will be the difference in the game.
5. I did some research the other day and found out this interesting fact: The jungletron (see picture in post below) is actually larger than 2 NCAA FBS schools: Bowling Green and Texas State.

Friday Night Writes: Clinton @ Madison Central

The "jungletron" will be unveiled at tonight's game against Clinton.

Tonight, the jaguars of Madison Central will meet the Clinton Arrows at Jaguar Stadium. Excitement surrounds this game not only because many label it a rivalry game, but also because of the unveiling of what has become affectionately known by the student body at Madison Central as the "jungletron". Whatever the cause, the excitement surrounding the circumstances of this game can only mean one thing: an exciting atmosphere for an exciting game. Clinton is so excited that they dressed in orange and blue for their pep rally (Please don't ask me for the logic behind that.). Clinton is extremely ready not only for this game but also to win. Why? It has been exactly 2192 days since Clinton has beaten Madison Central. That's quite some time. Enough with the interesting pictures and stats. There ought to be some good football played tonight.

Clinton comes into this game with a first-year head coach. MC is going to test the Arrows' new head coach Judd Boswell and his team with an aggressive style of play. Madison Central is looking to run a balanced attack on offense tonight to keep the Arrow defense on its heels. The Jags will more than likely use a steady diet of outside runs combined with read options and some play-action passing. The CHS team, not normally known for their defense, will have to force and capitalize on turnovers, which have given the Jags some fits in recent weeks. On offense, the Jags will have to control Senior QB Cale Luke, who has both thrown and rushed for over 300 yards on the season. Historically, dual-threat quarterbacks, like Luke, have given the Jags some trouble on defense (see former Olive Branch QB Todd Mays). To stop Luke, the Jags must tackle better than they did against West Monroe, or else MC is in for a very long night.

Keys to the Game

• Madison Central's offense- Jake Schwartz's running ability and toughness has to be key tonight for the jags. Schwartz's throwing ability could allow him to pick apart almost any defense in region 2; however Coach Hall doesn't like to be one-dimensional (at least this year). Look for Jake to have a breakout night after his offense handles a mediocre Clinton defense. Key Player: Jake Schwartz
• Madison Central's defense- It's all about one person: Cale Luke. Make him cough up the football; he already has 5 fumbles this season (Luke has also thrown 5 interceptions). Luke has accounted for 73% of Clinton's total offense. If you stop Luke you will stop the Arrows. The main problem for MC's defense, though, is big plays. Every team MC has played has had several long touchdown plays (except Starkville); you cannot allow that to happen. Key Unit: Linebackers
• Clinton's offense- If Clinton wins the battle in the trenches, they can win this game. Clinton will look to utilize Cale Luke on nearly every down.  Clinton, who I'm sure watched film of the West Monroe game, knows that if they play tough, they will be rewarded. Key player: Cale Luke
• Clinton's defense- Jake Schwartz can beat you with his feet or his arm; plus you can't forget about Brandon Moore, Brandon Collins, or Doug Ball either. This is a tough task. The Arrows will have to play quick defense to keep MC from moving the football. Defensive backs will have to make tackles and stop Schwartz's arm all at once. But if Clinton can force turnovers, they have to like their chances in this game. Key Unit: Defensive backs

Prediction: Ultimately, I think MC, who has faced superior opponents than CHS, will be too much for the Arrows to handle. In my opinion, Clinton does not have the defense nor the offensive firepower to keep up with the Jags tonight. It will more than likely be another 365 days before Clinton has another chance to end their winless streak against Madison Central. Clinton 20, Madison Central 41.  

6A-Region 2 Preview

6A Football is the pinnacle of high school football for rather obvious reasons: more players, larger talents pools, more money, etc. In the weeks leading up to the beginning of the season, we have looked at Region 1 of 6A football in Mississippi and we will continue to look at the 3 other regions of 6A football.

6A-Region 2

1. Madison Central- This is an easy pick in my mind. Top to bottom, the talent at Madison Central is incomparable to that of any other school in Region 2. Madison's real fight this year will be outside their region (see non-region schedule: Olive Branch; Starkville; Petal; West Monroe, LA). The transferring of Jamarion Robert to MRA should prove somewhat tricky (the degree of which has yet to be determined). Former Madison Central and Auburn University offensive lineman Chaz Ramsey has now taken the Tight End coach job at MC, which is pretty cool if you ask me. It doesn't hurt that Madison Central has the best special teams unit in the nation (at least that's what MC kicker Patrick Rahaim tells me, but he is a tad biased). This is looking like a complete team, just ask offensive lineman Leonard Swilley, "Y'all really don't know what's coming. All I've got to say is 'Get ready'". Record: 11-0 or 10-1; 7-0 (a letdown game somewhere in non-region schedule possibly)
2. Northwest Rankin- Although NWR has lost offensive firepower, coach Pete Hurt isn't going to let that stop his team from attempting to grab the top ranking in this region. With QB Reid Humphries out from Tommy John surgery and RB Ramone Nash transferring to MRA (weird how so many players are "transferring" to MRA, hmm...), the cougars will have to play stout defense to allow newcomers some slack. New QB Benton Yancey is not incompetent, however. And the new lead RB Curtis Hicks has impressed many current players with his ability to run the ball. But, as is the same case with Olive Branch, how much of last years production can this year's team replace? My answer: A lot. Kicker Cason Gooch thinks that this year's atmosphere around coach Hurt's program is "Incredible. Very exciting." Record: 11-1; 6-1 (Loss: @ Madison Central)
3. Murrah- The Mustangs are a team on the rise in Region 2. And for Murrah, it's all about getting one player the ball, Malik Dear. Dear had 994 receiving yards, 434 rushing yards, and over 100 yards as a punt/kick returner in his freshman year. Yes, you heard that correctly. Malik Dear had over 1,500 all-purpose yards AS A FRESHMAN. If this man doesn't have over 2,000 all purpose yards this year, he's hurt. That is the only reason this player cannot achieve that number. Murrah is slowly closing the gap between itself and the top of the region. Record: 8-3; 5-2 (Losses: Madison Central, Northwest Rankin, and either @ Provine, @ Callaway, or @ Jim Hill) 
4. Clinton- Clinton's decline in football the past several seasons has stemmed from a mediocre offense and lackluster defense. Sure, Clinton makes playoffs nearly every year, but it just seems like the team is normal. Just mediocre. Just right in the middle of everything. Skill players. Offensive lineman. Defensive players. Coaches. Everything: just in the middle. Lets take a closer look; on offense, no returning passer or rusher over 500 yards. On defense; Clinton's best player,Cornerback Cedric Jiles, a MSU signee, is gone. Someone is going to have to step up here or else another 5-7 season is on the horizon. Record:6-5; 4-3 (Losses: @ Meridian, @ Brandon, @ Madison Central, @ Murrah, Northwest Rankin)
5. Jim Hill: 6-5; 2-5 (Losses: Either @ Callaway or Provine, @ Clinton, Northwest Rankin, Madison Central, Murrah)
6. Greenville-Weston: 3-8; 2-5 (Wins: Gentry, @ Vicksburg, Warren Central)
7. Vicksburg: 3-8; 1-6 (Wins: Richwood (LA),  @ Lawrence County, Warren Central)
8. Warren Central- 1-10; 0-7 (Win: Callaway)