At this point being tested is almost as good as qualifying for the postseason.

It’s Week 8, the playoffs are three weeks away and the Trinity Episcopal Saints &045; ranked No. 1 in MPSA Class A &045; are gearing up for their second of three big games on the regular season schedule with the postseason and all their hope looming on the horizon.

After landing a win over defending Class AA champ Oak Forest &045; the only team the Saints did not shutout so far this season &045; Trinity hits the road Friday for a match against Glenbrook School at Minden, La., in what may be a excellent preview of the playoffs as MPSA enters Week 8.

&uot;I think they’re very comparable (to Oak Forest),&uot; said Trinity head coach David King, whose club has out-scored every opponent except OFA 253-0. &uot;I don’t think they’re as physical and deep, but they’re good. They’ve got some very talented transfers in from a 3A public school and are on a roll right now. I think our kids are excited. It’s been a really good rivalry with them in basketball and football.&uot;

The one given is the two teams are awfully familiar with each other simply based on recent history. Last year the Apaches played at Trinity and lost when they fumbled on the TE 1 and the Saints drove 99 yards for the winning score in a 12-7 victory.

The two teams met in the South State finals in basketball last year and in the South State finals in football two years ago when the Saints won the Class A title.

&uot;You know they’re really wanting to beat us,&uot; King said. &uot;We beat them in a very close game last year. Glenbrook is one of those games we’ve circled on our schedule. They’re going to really try to beat us.&uot;

The Apaches had a running-based offense when they played at Trinity last season, but this season the addition of the three players from Minden High School had added some speed to the system. The Apaches go with a two-back system and throw to a receiver and open things up a bit.

&uot;That receiver is putting up good numbers,&uot; King &uot;That receiver is putting up good numbers,&uot; King said. &uot;They’re kind of like us &045; very diverse on offense and put up a lot of points and have given up very few points. Picking up those transfers has really helped them. I know they are going to be a very tough team to beat.&uot;

And quite honestly, the same can be said of the Saints, who have mauled everyone on their schedule except Oak Forest with its multitude of weapons. But it’s the defense that has sparked them more than anything, and it’s a senior-laden group whose goals are set so high it’s probably kicking itself for not shutting out Oak Forest.

&uot;We’re still making some mistakes that are correctable,&uot; King said. &uot;Oak Forest was the only game where we’ve had to come out and play four quarters of football. Now we’re facing a team that has the speed we’ve got. Our defense is playing really well, and we want to make sure we’re able to stop teams driving the ball on us. We’re fine-tuning the little things we haven’t been able to work on in these blowout games.&uot;

Adams Christian at Centreville

It’s really nothing the Rebels are trying to hide but instead to correct. While they suddenly find themselves in a two-game losing streak after starting the season 4-1, the key is to diversify an offensive attack that has rested largely in part on the shoulders of running back Luke Ogden.

That plan worked at the beginning, but the last two games the Rebels have just seven points to show for their efforts.

&uot;Everybody around here is acting like it’s the end of the world, but we played two good teams,&uot; AC head coach Keith Walters said. &uot;I don’t think (we) have anything to hang our heads over. We hope we can continue to improve. Those were two very good defenses we played.&uot;

And both made the Rebels resort to a more balanced attack and even some trick plays to create spark. Ogden finished with 19 carries for 50 yards to up his season totals to 1,124 yards on 139 carries, but he sat out a good bit of the second half against Jackson Prep while Timmy Foster got in at quarterback and Dustin Case moved to running back.

Foster hit Ray Simpson on a touchdown pass for the Rebels’ only score in the last two weeks.

Part of that is due to Ogden’s assortment of injuries, including a sore quad that’s still preventing him from going 100 percent.

&uot;He’s not able to practice much this week,&uot; Walters said. &uot;It’s hard to practice on Thursday and play on Friday, and I don’t care who you are. But that’s no an excuse. We’ve got to do a better job of blocking. Hopefully we can mix it up and move the ball against a good Centreville defense.&uot;

The Rebels will visit at Centreville team that lost a good bit from last year’s squad that won in Natchez in last year’s meeting. But as long as Bill Hurst is coach of the Tigers, don’t count them out for anything.

Lately the Tigers have been plagued by injuries, and Blake Devall is back. Jennings Field returns to start at quarterback.

&uot;They have lost four in a row, but if you look at who they played, they’re going through the same things we’re going through,&uot; Walters said. &uot;They’re not getting beat 40-0. We know they’re going to play hard Friday. Devall had 200 yards Friday, and he’s also a real good receiver. They’re throwing more than they have in the past.&uot;

Veritas at Tensas

Things sure are better now in Week 8 for the Chiefs, who had a number of problems earlier in the season and are finally getting on the right track.

Part of the problem was the quality of talent in those first few games &045; Briarfield, Porter’s Chapel, Tallulah and WCCA are legitimate playoff contenders. Now it’s the Chiefs who are on verge of doing the same thing.

&uot;We are executing better,&uot; TA head coach Chris Jacobs said. &uot;We’ve getting to the point where we can do some things against people and gain confidence. Eight weeks into the season, we’re starting to pull it together. I don’t know. It happened last year, too. I guess we have to do a better job next year. I kept telling our kids, ‘You’re the best 0-5 team around.’&uot;

Jacobs’ Chiefs were supposed to have the week off Friday when Mount Olive opted not to field a team this season, but he picked up a game with Veritas School, a Jackson-based school fielding a team for the first time.

Jacobs was able to line up the game back in August with head coach Jeff Thigpen when Mount Olive made it official to suspend its program.

&uot;They had an eight-game schedule, and I had to make a few phone calls out there to convince them to play another,&uot; Jacobs said. &uot;They’re young. We’ve got four more seniors than they do, and they don’t have any. But they look well-coached.&uot;

Columbia at WCCA

Similar to Trinity’s contest, this one is a nice test for the surging Rams, who are coming off consecutive shutout wins in the last two weeks after narrowly falling to Class AAA Adams Christian the week prior.

The Rams pounded Pine Hills last week after landing a 35-0 win over Huntington the week prior. Much of that production has been on the ground with Duston Dor and Travis Allen leading the way behind a bullish line.

Huntington at Plain Dealing

The Hounds hope to get back on track this week against a struggling Plain Dealing squad that hasn’t scored many points this season.

It’s a similar shape of the Hounds, who have scored 50 points through their seven games this season with a season-high 16 against Chamberlain-Hunt. But most of that is due to injuries, forcing the Hounds to reshuffle their backfield and struggle moving the ball on the ground.

Brookhaven at CHA

The Wildcats struggled at previously winless Prairie View last week, but as a positive the offense found a spark of sorts late in the game with quarterback Tyler Lake throwing two touchdown passes.

Now they’ll meet up with Brookhaven, a team that is also struggling at 1-6 on the season and winless in District 4-AA.

UC Prep at Pine Hills

The Wildcats are down on players, especially after eighth-grade starting quarterback Lee Turner went down with a compound fracture in his throwing arm last week at WCCA.