Friday Night Writes: Madison Central @ Petal

If you like big-time high school football, you need to be in Petal, MS this Friday night when the Madison Central Jaguars take to the road to battle the Petal Panthers. The Jags and the Panthers are two of the most highly touted teams in the state; the jags are ranked #8 in the state of MS by maxpreps.com, and the panthers are ranked #6 in the state by the same website. Both teams run a spread offense, although each attack is specific to that team. The Panthers use a run-oriented attack led by all-purpose back Tyus Raine (156 rushing yards/game) and QB Larson Barkum. The jags on the other hand are a pass-first team lead by Jake Schwartz, who averages over 350 all-purpose yards per game. Let's take a closer look at this intriguing matchup.

Coming into this game, the panthers are going to spread out the field in order to get the ball to the aforementioned Tyus Raine, a speedster type back who also plays defensive back. Petal also has the potential to hurt teams through the air when Raine becomes successful on the ground. Barkum has shown that he is a competent quarterback that can manage the game and make an accurate throw when his team needs it. But what Petal needs most isn't an offense that can score; it needs a defense that can stop a team from scoring. Petal gave up 56 points to Picayune last Saturday. Even though Picayune is a top team in the state, their offense isn't spectacular and 56 points is still a considerable number of points. In layman's terms, Picayune's offense had their way with Petal's defense. And in my opinion, towards the end of the game Petal's defense looked tired and worn-out. Facing the jags quick and agile offense (unlike Picayune's tough, pro-style offense). The panthers might be even more tired than they were against Picayune, especially PHS's front 7. From what I saw, Petal's d-line better step it up. MC's o-line is very quick.

Keys to the Game

• Madison Central's offense- Against the panthers, look for the jags to run their triple option offense against Petal's slower, larger d-line. Jake Schwartz should have his passes set up by the run game; so it is only logical to think that play-action passes will be a factor tomorrow night. Key Players: Brandon Moore and Brandon Collins
• Madison Central defense- Stop Raine and you will make Larson Barkum beat you with his arm. The panthers are not a passing team and will consequently make mistakes when you make them uncomfortable. Key Players: Joe Green and Gemarte Jackson
• Petal offense- Petal wants to establish their running game. It's that simple. If the panthers can hold the ball away from the jags, they will be in this game. Think of it like defensive offense. Plus, Raine can score too. Watch him at all times. Key Player: Tyus Raine
• Petal defense-  If the panthers can keep the jags from scoring a lot, the panthers will be in this game. The panthers will be looking for any kind of mistakes from the jags to turn into momentum. Key Unit- Front 7 

Prediction: Madison Central 38, Petal 24

Also, in case you cannot make it to Petal this Friday night, the game will be broadcast live here: http://www.misshsaa.tv/petal/events/3623.

6A-Region 3 Preview

6A football is the pinnacle of high school football for rather obvious reasons: more players, larger talent pools, more money, etc. In the weeks leading up to the beginning of the season, we have looked at Region 1 and Region 2 of 6A football in Mississippi and we will continue to look at the other regions of 6A football in MS.


6A-Region 3

1. Meridian- The defending 6A-Region 3 champions are back. And I'll be 100% honest with you. I can't find a single stat for Meridian last year, which makes the case for Meridian this year tough. But I can find a stat that encases this team for the past 8 years: Meridian is 85-17-1 in the past 8 seasons. Bet your bottom dollar that Meridian has reloaded and is just as good, if not better than last year. Record: 12-0;7-0
2. Brandon- This is my surprise pick of this region. Brandon surprised many people last year and coach Brad Peterson has people in Brandon finally believing in their football team again. And here's the deal guys: Brandon went 8-5 last year with a freshman quarterback. With the maturing of a palpably talented quarterback, Brandon has a true threat again on offense. Gardener Minshew has the gifts and opportunities this season to take BHS farther than it has been in quite some time. Record: 9-3;5-2 (Losses: Northwest Rankin and @ Meridian, and either Petal or Oak Grove)
3. Oak Grove- Okay, you knew it was coming. So I'll ask the question. Just how much is having Brett Favre as your offensive coordinator worth? Only time will tell, but we CAN say this. Even before he was an offensive coordinator, his offense LOVED to sling the rock around the field. Their last quarterback is now a walk-on quarterback at Mississippi State (He threw for 1,700+ yards last year.) Oak grove did a good job of making sure that they wouldn't lose all of that production when Steven Swindle left. The new guy, Kirk McCarty, had nearly 500 yards passing last year as a back-up. So, if you knew that Brett Favre played QB in the NFL for nearly 500 years (which you did, unless you live under a rock) and that his team ALREADY liked to throw the ball, common sense might tell you that his team is going to throw the ball nearly all game. Think "Olive Branch" last year, except no running game at QB, which is fine because a passing threat like that automatically opens up a running game. This offense has the potential to take over 6A football in a few years, but several slip-ups are expected and will most likely end any talk of winning this region this year. Record: 10-2;5-2 (Losses: @ Meridian and either @ Petal or Brandon)
4. Petal - Want to know just how deep this region is? Here you go. The 6A runner-up from 2011 is in 4th place and I highly doubt anyone can argue for them to be any higher. Petal had a highly successful season last year, but this year may hold a different ending. The key to last years team was the highly touted quarterback Anthony Alford, a Southern Miss signee/minor league baseball player for the Toronto Blue Jays organization and he is gone. The main reason I think that Petal has lost its contender status for this region? No one from south state would be able to replace Alford's production from last year. No one. It's simply not possible to write about how much Alford meant to that team. Leadership and point production are the two hardest things to replace on a team, and I'm not quite sure Petal can replace either one of those things. Record: 9-3; 5-2 (Losses: Madison Central, @ Meridian and either @ Brandon or Oak Grove)
5. Hattiesburg: 6-5; 4-3 (Losses: @ Murrah, @ Meridian, Brandon, @ Oak Grove, and Petal) 
6. Natchez: 6-5; 3-4(Losses: Meridian, @ Petal, Hattiesburg, @ Brandon, and Oak Grove)
7. Terry:2-9; 1-7 (Wins: Raymond, @ Forest Hill)
8. Forest Hill:2-9;0-7 (Wins: Wingfield and Callaway)