>Week ten is here. Cool brisk weather is here. A clear picture and playoff bracket prognostications aren’t but it’s getting closer. What is clear is round two of the Class AA playoffs could produce some mighty matchups that will have MAIS fans very excited. While there are still two weeks of regular season football remaining it is very tempting to go ahead and pencil in some squads in an effort to see what potential battles may lay ahead for round two meetings. For instance, River Oaks at North Delta, Trinity at Simpson, Brookhaven at Centreville and a possible Leake at Marshall slobber knocker that is always fun.
The biggest topic of interest could very well be which squads stand the best chance to capture wildcard slots. It appears that Lamar and Silliman have the inside advantage in the south while Indianola and Winston have the edge in the north.
>In Class A football a few teams have cemented a slot in post-season. Two District 2A squads are virtual locks as Greenville Christian will probably qualify as a fourth seed and Benton should enter as the third seed. Friday night’s huge game between top ranked Tri-County and second ranked Winona will settle who the number one and two seeds from that district are.
The other interesting district is over in 3A which can be considered the most competitive district 1-5 in all Class A. Cenla and WCCA sit atop District 3A with perfect 5-0 marks but Cenla has a slightly more difficult schedule as they finish on the road at a surging and healthy Glenbrook team before hosting WCCA the final week. With the resurgence of Glenbrook and a Riverfield team that should finish 8-3 ASC could be the odd team out.
Newton has all but wrapped up the top seed from District 4A but the jockeying for the remaining three slots will be a barnburner as Prentiss, Heidelberg and Porter’s Chapel battle it out the final two weeks.
Tunica is in the driver’s seat in District 1A and Desoto, Bayou and Deer Creek will play out to determine the remaining three positions.
>Two injury updates from week nine.
Winston senior quarterback Tyler Sullivan suffered a dislocated and lacerated finger on his throwing hand against Starkville. Sullivan will miss this week’s game at Immanuel.
Central Private senior wide-out Lance Wicker suffered a torn ACL against Riverfield and has been lost for the season.
>I’ve been floored and very pleased at the quick recovery Southern Sports & Travel has had in only three weeks back up and running. The traffic to the site has been on a steady increase and to be honest my expectations were that it would take some time to re-attract longtime visitors. My thanks to you all.
>If you are one of the many who take the time and effort to send in updated scores each Friday night I’d like to thank you. It’s an important feature of the site to post live updated scores. Sometimes things don’t go smoothly due to certain areas having poor reception but progress is being made. What most don’t know is that when a score is sent it doesn’t come to me during the game. My wonderful sidekick of 27+ years sits quietly all to herself with her laptop and my cell phone and frantically tries to keep up with the hundreds of calls that pour in during the game.
>It seems as though each year tragedy strikes one of our young people. Last week a young lady who attended school with my oldest son was in a horrific auto accident and suffered severe injuries. Some of those injuries could have been lessened had she been wearing her seatbelt. It’s always heartbreaking when tragedy strikes but it’s also an opportunity to remind our kids to buckle up. Whether you’re an old fart like me or you have teenagers at home please tell them daily to buckle up.
>Below I’ve reposted an article I wrote as the 2010 football regular drew to a close. For many of our senior student-athletes these next two weeks will be the end of their high school athletic careers. My hope is that they make the most of a special time in their lives.
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See ya somewhere………………
