From the notebook..................

>>Week ten of the 2013 MAIS football season is upon us. Hard to imagine how quickly the regular season has passed by but with just one regular season game remaining for Class A and AA squads  the tension will be at its’ highest on Friday night when kick-off time draws near. Playoff positions are up in the air and unlike seasons past, every game counts with regards to seeding and the fight for the all-important home field advantage for the playoffs.

In Class AA only one district has crowned a champion through week nine. Centreville clinched the District 6-AA title with their win over Central Private two weeks ago.

Leake, depending on the district 2-AA tie-breaker, is in the driver’s seat in that respective district and River Oaks can avoid a three way log jam at the top of District 3-AA with a win at home over Riverfield.

The dust will not be cleared until late Friday night.

Head-to-head matchups to determine district champions take place in three of those five districts with Adams traveling to Brookhaven for the District 5-AA title, Simpson goes to Central Hinds for the District 4-AA crown and North Delta visits Indianola for the District 2-AA championship.

Class A has high stakes matchups on Friday night as well.

In District 1-A fifth ranked DeSoto travels to Holly Springs to take on second ranked Marshall for the district title. Both teams sit at 3-0 while in District 2-A a Deer Creek win over Immanuel Christian would create a three way log jam at the top with both those teams and Carroll. All would be at 2-1.

The drama in District 3-A could be high as Newton heads to Benton to try and pin the first district loss of the year on the fourth ranked Raiders. A win by Benton and they seal the deal with a perfect 4-0 mark. A loss, and a Sylva Bay win over Heidelberg, would create a three way tie at the top.  

Cenla travels to Riverdale in a District 5-A battle to determine the district champion. Both squads sit at 2-0 in district competition.

One Class A district in which little doubt exists is 4-A. That is where one of the best five teams in the entire MAIS resides. The top ranked and undefeated Trinity Saints travel to Tallulah for a tune-up game in preparation for the playoffs. Trinity looks to be clear cut favorites to nail down the top seed in Class A.

Early Saturday morning one lucky team will learn their fate when it’s determined who the number 16 seed is.  That squad will travel to Natchez in round one to take on Trinity.

The Class AAA playoffs will begin in three weeks.

>>Indianola will look to win their first district championship since 2001 on Friday night against North Delta but in order to do so they must defeat a program that has won three consecutive district titles and 15 of their past 16 district games.

>>Jackson Academy’s 24-14 home win over arch rival Jackson Prep was the 40^th straight home win for the Raider program. Jackson Academy’s last home loss was a 24-6 defeat at the hands of Prep on August 31^st, 2007.

>>When Tri-County lost 17-7 to Leake in week 5 it was their first district loss since October 17^th, 2008. It snapped an 18 game district win streak and the state’s longest overall win streak at 30. Tri-County has gone 59-4 overall since 2009.
>>Basketball season has begun, please text scores to 985-750-3455.

>>Although I’m from Louisiana I have absolutely fallen in love with the state of Mississippi. The thousands of miles traveled over the past six years have enabled me to see lots of beautiful countryside, meet hundreds of great people and hear many stories, most probably true.

One charming characteristic that never eludes me while traveling the state is the uniqueness of many of the town’s names.

Arm, Chickenbone, Doglap, Hot Coffee, Grin, Chunky, Money, Openface, Panther Burn, Pokerflat, Reform, Screwdriver and Sweatman are just a few that I’m interested in knowing the stories behind.

>>As many of us hit the roads this Friday night please remember to buckle up and remind your kids the same before they walk out the door.

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God is great!

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See ya somewhere……………….