Wilkinson County traveling to LaPlace

Published 12:01 am Thursday, September 13, 2018

WOODVILLE — The Wilkinson County High School Wildcats will look to remain undefeated when they travel over 100 miles to LaPlace, La. to take on the LHSAA Class 3A St. Charles Catholic High School Comets.

Kickoff this Friday is set for 7 p.m. MHSAA Class 3A Wilkinson County enters this game with a 3-0 record after a 30-0 home win over a good Heidelberg High School team.

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St. Charles Catholic is 1-1 after falling at Destrehan High School 31-3.

The Wildcats also will be seeking retribution after being shut out at home by the Comets last year 20-0.

“Defensively, we’re a lot better. We’ve had three shutouts. We’ve been able to score a lot more points this season. We gave them more credit than they deserved last year,” Wildcats head coach Kenneth Brown said.

Preparing for this game has been an issue for Wilkinson County so far this week because of the inclement weather.

“Monday, we did some stretching and watching film. (Tuesday) the rain kept us from doing anything. We’ve got to do something today,” Brown said.

Brown said St. Charles Catholic is a team that does not defeat itself and is well-disciplined on both sides of the ball.

“They’re a well-coached team. They don’t do anything to hurt themselves. They’re a fundamentally-coached team,” Brown said. “We need to stop their running game first and force them to throw the ball. Most of their stuff that surrounds the run. If we can do that, we can have a pretty good chance of winning the football game.”

As for the Comets’ defense, Brown said, “They don’t get out of place too much. They handle their assignments and responsibilities pretty good. Hopefully, we can utilize our speed. We have to contain the line of scrimmage so we can throw the ball. If our offensive line can control their defensive front, we have a chance.”

Brown said that running backs Terrell Coleman Jr. and Nolan Thompson III have to have a good game, as well as wide receivers DreQuan Cage, Treveon Miles, Deshawn Winding, and Tremorrion Mealey, who also plays cornerback.

“Our quarterback, Freddie Byrd III, has to be on his game. We have to use our skill people,” Brown said. “Defensively, we just have to continue to play good ball. They’ve been in the same system for three or four years. Get after it. We just have to stay aggressive and keep playing good football.”

Jefferson County at Terry

FAYETTE — The Jefferson County High School Tigers look to go undefeated on their three-game road trip, but it will not be easy as they travel to Terry to take on the MHSAA Class 6A Terry High School Bulldogs Friday at 7 p.m.

Jefferson County is at 2-1 overall after a 32-14 win at South Delta High School in Rolling Fork. The Tigers, who have been known for their passing game over the last several seasons, racked up 416 rushing yards on 40 total carries to go with 19 first downs.

“Coming into the season, we decided that our strength is the running game. We can throw the ball some. But our main goal is to run the football,” Tigers head coach James Herrington said.

In last week’s win over the South Delta Bulldogs, Domonique Gaines rushed for 243 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries while Limarvin Smith Jr. had 104 yards on just nine carries. Gailrontae Fells and Jameime Herrington also had rushing touchdowns.

Terry goes into this game with a 4-0 record. After a narrow 7-0 win at Raymond High School to begin the 2018 season, these Bulldogs have defeated Wingfield High School, Florence High School, and Port Gibson High School by a combined score of 112-13. Last Friday they shut out the Blue Waves 34-0.

As for what concerns him the most about Terry, coach Herrington said, “The same thing that concerned me most about our last opponent is the same thing that concerns the most about Terry and that is their numbers. The amount of players they can put on the field. We’ll have to play ball-control football, speed up the game and limit their possessions to combat the numbers they have.”

In last year’s 20-0 loss at home, Jefferson County was only down 6-0 at the end of the third quarter. But Terry would eventually wear down the Tigers and scored two touchdowns to put the game away.

“We’re going to have to execute offensively. We played a good game defensively last year,” Herrington said. “We have to limit their possessions offensively and keep our defense rested.”

Franklin County at Lawrence County

MEADVILLE — Franklin County High School will be doing the least amount of traveling among the local MHSAA Region 7-3A teams as they go to Monticello, but they will also have a tough opponent to face in Class 4A Lawrence County High School at 7 p.m. Friday.

Franklin County is still in search of its first win of the 2018 season after coming up just short at home to still-undefeated Lumberton High School 33-24. The Bulldogs dropped to 0-4 on the season.

Lawrence County is at 3-1 overall after defeating fellow Class 4A opponent Bay High School at home 20-7. Last year, the Cougars escaped with a 19-16 double-overtime win at Franklin County, only to lose their final six games of the season to finish 3-8.