CENTREVILLE — Centreville Academy’s varsity football team has been in this position many times before — the No. 1 team in all of MAIS Class AA.

After last week’s 56-44 win over Adams County Christian School, the Tigers maintained that ranking.

And if that wasn’t enough, the 3-0 Tigers are now ranked No. 5 in the latest Mississippi Associated Press private school poll. Now comes Class AAA Parklane Academy to visit Centreville as the Pioneers look to avenge last season’s 36-17 loss. Kickoff on is at 7 p.m.

Assistant coach Brian Stutzman said it did not take long for the Tigers to get last week’s game behind them and start focusing on Parklane, which lost to Class AA No. 3 Silliman Institute 20-6 last Friday night to drop to 1-2 overall.

“We started getting ready Monday morning,” Stutzman said. “We watched some game film on Parklane from last week’s game.”

He said the Pioneers run a spread offense — the kind of offense that in recent years has given Centreville all sorts of problems — and a 3-4 defense.

As to who on Parklane’s team the Tigers should be concerned with the most, Stutzman said, “Their quarterback, Carr Young. He’s got a strong arm. On defense, we’ve got to block Jace Travis, their linebacker.”

Stutzman said that even though practice has gone well so far this week, the players have had to deal with the 90-plus degree heat and unusually high humidity.

“Seems like it’s been a hot week. Sun’s been out this week. We try to keep them hydrated,” Stutzman said. “They’ve made it for the most part.”

Injury-wise, the Tigers are for the most part healthy. However, Stutzman added that a couple of players will be out for this game with minor injuries, except for one who suffered a concussion in last week’s game.

He added that he hopes the secondary will be back to full strength and that having some of the players play out of position on defense was one of the reasons that Centreville gave up so many points.

“We were kind of banged up last week, but we’ve been banged up all season,” Stutzman said. “But our breakdown was in special teams. We’ve made some changes there. Hopefully, we won’t give up that many points again.”

WCCA vs. Oak Forest Academy

WOODVILLE — After coming so close to picking up its first win of the season last week against Bowling Green School, the competition get a lot tougher for Wilkinson County Christian Academy as the 0-3 Rams will travel to Amite, La., to take on the MAIS Class AAA Oak Forest Academy Yellow Jackets Friday with a 7 p.m. kickoff.

WCCA led Bowling Green 12-7 at halftime until the Buccaneers scored nearly midway through the third quarter to grab a 13-12 lead and their defense kept the Rams out of the end zone a couple of times in the fourth quarter.

“From week to week, you’ve got to make progress. It wasn’t necessarily a skill, but they played a complete game. They played for four quarters,” head coach Kyle White said. “We haven’t flown to the ball like that in a year and a half. We haven’t reached that potential, but we’re getting there.”

White noted that the three turnovers the Rams committed were the determining factor in the outcome of the game.

“We fumbled the ball on the first play of the game. Two picks, both of them going down into scoring position,” White said.

WCCA will not only be looking to get its first win of the season, but it will also be seeking some retribution after losing at home to Oak Forest 38-7. That may be easier said than done on the road against an undefeated Yellow Jackets team.

However, White said it’s not really for him to say whether Oak Forest is a better team this year than it was a year ago at this time even though its record is 3-0 after a 38-14 win over Presbyterian Christian School.

“They’re a very solid, well-coached team. They’re deep. They want to run the ball right down your throat. Defensively, they like put a bunch of guys in the box to stop the run and force you to throw the ball,” White said. “They like to blitz some. We have to do a better job running the ball. When we do need to throw the ball, we’ll throw it.”

He added that it will not be just one or two players who will need to play better for the Rams to upset the Yellow Jackets. He also said that the senior class is helping the younger players play better and getting more focused.

Tylertown vs. Franklin County

MEADVILLE — Two teams coming off tough losses last week will face off Friday night when the 1-2 Franklin County Bulldogs play host to the 2-1 Tylertown Chiefs. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.

Franklin County was shut out on the road by McComb 18-0. Tylertown went into last week’s home game against Franklinton (La.) ranked No. 2 in Class 3A until being dealt a stunning 20-12 upset loss that dropped the Chiefs to No. 4.

However, Bulldogs head coach Anthony Hart is concerned about Tylertown going into this with a chip on its shoulder or having something to prove. He is concerned about the team itself.

“They’re a power running team with play action. Defensively, they run a base-4, but they’re multiple. They have a lot of players. They’re very big lineman-wise. Speed all around. With them, it’s the whole deal. They’re a really good team. I don’t think we’ll play a better team in (MHSAA Class) 3A this year,” Hart said.

He added, “Good teams, it’s going to be the same each week. They’re going to play hard.”

Hart said the offense will have to cut down on the mistakes, including turnovers and penalties, if the Bulldogs are to have a chance of pulling of the upset of the Chiefs.

“We did some good things and we did some bad things. We’re getting better each week to get ready for the (division) schedule,” Hart said.

Hart said that with the exception of the three scoring drives, the defense played well against McComb.

“They played good in spots. We had trouble with long-yardage situations. There were three or four plays that if we made, that could’ve changed the outcome,” Hart said. “It’s part of growing up as an inexperienced football team.”