Final Regular Season MPB Top 25 Poll

2012 Regular Season Final High School Football Top 25 – 11.10.12
RK	SCHOOL (1st)	CL		W-L	POINTS	LW
1	Picayune (20)	5A		10-0	596	1
2	Noxubee County (4)	4A		12-0	570	2
3	Petal	6A		10-1	542	3
4	South Panola	6A		9-2	525	4
5	Olive Branch	6A		10-1	485	5
6	West Point	5A		9-2	453	7
7	Bassfield	2A		12-0	403	8
8	Brandon	6A		9-2	395	9
9	Oxford	5A		10-1	377	6
10	Pearl River Central	5A		9-1	356	12
11	Jackson Prep	AAA-1		12-0	333	10
12	Itawamba AHS	4A		11-0	308	14
13	Hazlehurst	3A		12-0	291	13
14	Wayne County	5A		9-2	240	15
15	Charleston	3A		11-1	230	16
16	Meridian	6A		8-3	210	17
17	Madison Central	6A		8-3	191	19
18	Pascagoula	5A		8-2	166	11
19	Tylertown	4A		10-1	165	18
20	Philadelphia	3A		12-0	133	21
21	Quitman	4A		11-1	129	20
22	Jackson Academy	AAA-1		11-1	93	T23
23	Gulfport	6A		8-3	81	NR
24	Forrest County AHS	4A		10-1	78	NR
25	(Cleveland) East Side	3A		12-0	76	NR
Dropped Out: Hattiesburg (22), Oak Grove (T23), D’Iberville (25)
Others Receiving Votes: Hattiesburg 64, Lafayette County 58, D’Iberville 47, West Marion 37, Southaven 31, Bogue Chitto 23, (Madison) Saint Joseph 18, Starkville 17, Aberdeen 14, Biloxi 14, Ocean Springs 14, Bay 5, Germantown 5, Natchez 5, Oak Grove 4, Bruce 3, New Albany 3, West Bolivar 3, Taylorsville 2, Tri-County Academy 2

5A Football State Championships–Will Update During the Night

6A MHSAA Football Bracket–Updated as teams qualify tonight

MPB High School Top 25 Football Poll– Week 11

2012 Week Eleven MPB High School Football Top 25 – 10.23.12
RK	SCHOOL (1st)	CL		W-L	POINTS	LW
1	Picayune (22)	5A		8-0	715	1
2	Noxubee County (5)	4A		10-0	688	2
3	Petal (1)	6A		8-1	648	3
4	South Panola	6A		7-2	619	4
5	Olive Branch	6A		8-1	572	5
6	Oxford	5A		9-0	566	6
7	West Point	5A		7-2	489	8
8	Bassfield (1)	2A		6-2	456	11
9	Brandon	6A		7-2	419	14
10	Jackson Prep	AAA-1		6-2	388	12
11	Pascagoula	5A		7-1	374	13
12	Hazlehurst	3A		10-0	329	15
13	Itawamba AHS	4A		9-0	292	16
14	Oak Grove	6A		7-2	285	7
15	Pearl River Central	5A		7-1	271	T18
16	D’Iberville	6A		7-1	258	9
17	Meridian	6A		6-3	235	10
18	Charleston	3A		9-1	234	17
19	Wayne County	5A		7-2	231	T18
20	Tylertown	4A		8-1	181	20
21	Madison Central	6A		6-3	152	23
22	Quitman	4A		9-1	127	NR
23	Philadelphia	3A		10-0	114	25
24	Jackson Academy	AAA-1		7-1	108	24
25	Bay	4A		8-0	104	NR
Dropped Out: Lafayette County (21), Natchez (22)
Others Receiving Votes: Lafayette County 92, (Cleveland) East Side 67, Hattiesburg 61, Bogue Chitto 38, Ocean Springs 35, Biloxi 32, Forrest County AHS 32, Gulfport 31, Aberdeen 23, (Madison) Saint Joseph 23, Natchez 22, West Marion 20, Columbia 15, McComb 15, Starkville 11, West Jones 10, Madison-Ridgeland Academy 8, Bruce 6, Eupora 5, Southaven 5, Taylorsville 4, Columbus 3, Pelahatchie 3, Germantown 2, West Oktibbeha 2, New Albany 1, Tri-County Academy 1

Lady Jags Claim State Volleyball Championship

CLINTON, Miss.—After splitting the opening sets, the DeSoto Central Lady Jags swept the third and fourth sets to claim their first state championship with a 25-21, 23-25, 25-17, 25-16 victory over the Ocean Springs Greyhounds in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class III volleyball state championship at the A. E. Wood Coliseum at Mississippi College.

“We did it against Southaven in the north half finals,” said DeSoto coach Margaret Falatko of the split set opening. “We start off slow and comeback strong.”

In a tight first set, Desoto Central picked up the final four points to score a 25-21 victory in the first frame.

The second set saw Ocean Springs go on a 7-0 run, bookended by kills from Emily Smith, to jump to an early lead before the Jaguars returned the favor to tie the set. The Greyhounds later went on an 8-0 run, powered by three aces from Lynsie Byrd, to pull away from Desoto Central on their way to winning the set.

With the two teams tied at 8-8 in the third set, the Lady Jags reeled off ten straight points on Alissa Rice’s serve to take a commanding 18-8 lead. The Greyhounds later went on a 7-1 run to close the gap to 23-17, but Desoto Central took the next two points to gain a 2-1 advantage.

“We struggled passing,” said Ocean Springs coach Amanda Bailey of her team’s difficulties late. “We had a bad passing day.  That is just how it goes.”

In the final set, DeSoto Central raced out to an 8-0 lead on Chelsea Lamping’s serve. The Lady Jags pushed their lead to 23-12 before going on to win the set 25-16.

“This is what they wanted,” said Falatko of her team’s play in the fourth set. “It was so close, and they wanted to finish the ball game.”

While the Greyhounds finished as the runners-up for the second time in as many tries, Bailey said her squad has had much success on which they can reflect.

“Four years ago when they came in as freshmen, they would never have thought they would have been in the state championship their junior and senior year,” said Bailey of her seniors. “We were one of the last two teams playing in the State of Mississippi, and they should be happy to have been here.”

In the Class I final, Our Lady Academy knocked off Lewisburg 3-2 to claim a record seventh state title, and in the Class II final, Lake Cormorant defeated Long Beach 3-1; Lewisburg and Long Beach came in as two-time defending state champions.

MPB Top 25-Week 5 Poll

2012 Week Five MPB High School Football Top 25 – 9.11.12
RK	SCHOOL (1st)	CL		W-L	POINTS	LW
1	Meridian (12)	6A		4-0	680	1
2	Olive Branch (10)	6A		3-0	669	2
3	Picayune (6)	5A		2-0	655	3
4	Brandon	6A		4-0	598	4
5	Noxubee County	4A		4-0	591	5
6	South Panola	6A		2-1	521	6
7	West Point	5A		2-1	491	8
8	Pascagoula	5A		3-0	456	7
9	Petal	6A		3-1	454	9
10	Biloxi	6A		2-1	424	10
11	Tylertown	4A		4-0	420	11
12	Hattiesburg	6A		3-0	303	13
13	Oxford	5A		4-0	296	17
14	Jackson Prep	AAA-1		3-0	295	14
15	Madison Central	6A		1-2	283	12
16	Oak Grove	6A		3-0	267	15
17	Lafayette County	4A		3-1	226	16
18	Hazlehurst	3A		4-0	224	18
19	Jackson Academy	AAA-1		1-1	171	21
20	Ocean Springs	6A		1-1	162	19
21	Charleston	3A		3-1	160	20
22	Bassfield	2A		4-0	129	NR
23	Wayne County	5A		2-2	104	25
24	Pearl River Central	5A		2-0	79	NR
25	(Cleveland) East Side	3A		4-0	59	NR
Dropped Out: West Bolivar (22), Starkville (23), Quitman (24)
Others Receiving Votes: Itawamba AHS 48, Water Valley 48, Philadelphia 37, Quitman 32, Pearl 26, West Jones 26, West Bolivar 22, Starkville 19, Bruce16, D’Iberville 14, DeSoto Central 11, Caledonia 10, Columbus 9, Forrest County AHS 9, Louisville 9, Gulfport 8, Taylorsville 7, Houston 6, Washington School 6, Murrah 5, Bay 3, Eupora 3, Madison-Ridgeland Academy 3, Provine 3, Saint Martin 2

Victory Formation–Quick Thoughts From Friday Night

If this isn’t the best time of year, I don’t know what is.  Stadiums across Mississippi lit up with lights last night, and today, we can watch college football today with the NFL waiting in the wings for tomorrow.

Before hitting all of the other games this weekend, here take a look back at the prep ranks:

1) The race to be the 6A South State champion could be an amazing three weeks:  In Region 4, Biloxi, Ocean Springs, and D’Iberville look like sure fire playoff teams in the top heavy region.  Could Gulfport really miss out on the playoffs? Could St. Martin really make the playoffs (more on this team later)?  If you look at Region 3, there will be one or two good teams staying home.  The region has taken care of business so far against Region 2: Brandon knocked off Clinton and Northwest Rankin, Natchez and Hattiesburg have beaten Warren Central, and Meridian took care of Clinton, just to name a few. Playoff matchups could be: Natchez/Hattiesburg/Oak Grove at Biloxi, Petal at Ocean Springs, Brandon vs. D’Iberville, and Meridian vs. Gulfport/St. Martin.  No need to rush the regular season, but how exciting of a week would that be?

2) St. Martin might become the best story of the year: Eddie Wayne Whitehead and his Yellow Jacket team have gone from a doormat to a team with a winning record in two years.  The team did not pick up a win in 2010, and their victory over Hancock ended a 20-game losing streak.  The squad has now picked up two wins and may be a sleeper playoff team. It’s early, but Whitehead may deserve Coach of the Year honors when all is said and done for his two years at St. Martin.

3) Little schools can play ball: Bassfield picked up a big win over Forrest County AHS (I called it on forwhomthecowbelltolls.com) proving that smaller schools can play ball.

4) Could Biloxi hit 100 this year?: It seems like it would be out of the character of John Shannon, the coach of the Indians, to try it, but this team might could put 100 points on someone. Starting quarterback  Jaylen Woullard has only played about a half in the last two contests because his team has been up by an incredible margin.  Last night, the Indians scored 50 before Woullard came to the bench, and the backups tacked on another 20 points.  If you are wondering, Biloxi has 133 points in its last two games, for a not-too-shabby 62.5 average.  Their season low of 35 came in an overtime loss to Picayune.

5) No one is talking about them: Bay High has a 3-0 record and have defeated 6A schools Hancock (35-0) and St. Martin (17-7), but no one is talking about them too much.  That will probably change.  With a big offensive line and a hard runner in Justus Williams, the Tigers will be a handful in region play and beyond.

MPB High School Top 25–Week 4

2012 Week Four MPB High School Football Top 25 – 9.04.12
RK	SCHOOL (1st)	CL	W-L	POINTS	LW
1	Meridian (10)	6A	3-0	771	3
2	Olive Branch (12)	6A	2-0	762	2
3	Picayune (9)	5A	2-0	754	4
4	Brandon (1)	6A	3-0	675	6
5	Noxubee County	4A	3-0	642	7
6	South Panola	6A	1-1	571	1
7	Pascagoula	5A	2-0	515	10
8	West Point	5A	1-1	493	9
9	Petal	6A	2-1	479	13
10	Biloxi	6A	1-1	450	11
11	Tylertown	4A	3-0	438	12
12	Madison Central	6A	1-2	351	8
13	Hattiesburg	6A	3-0	333	14
14	Jackson Prep	AAA-1	3-0	314	15
15	Oak Grove	6A	2-0	294	16
16	Lafayette County	4A	2-1	290	5
17	Oxford	5A	3-0	254	22
18	Hazlehurst	3A	3-0	220	18
19	Ocean Springs	6A	1-1	207	17
20	Charleston	3A	2-1	184	19
21	Jackson Academy	AAA-1	3-0	183	20
22	West Bolivar	2A	3-0	170	21
23	Starkville	5A	1-2	117	23
24	Quitman	4A	3-0	103	NR
25	Wayne County	5A	1-2	102	24
Dropped Out: Bassfield (25)
Others Receiving Votes: Bassfield 91, Forrest County AHS 76, Bruce 62, Pearl River Central 51, Water Valley 44, Itawamba AHS 42, Pearl 38, Gulfport 37, West Jones 37, (Cleveland) East Side 29, Philadelphia 26, McComb 25, DeSoto Central 16, Port Gibson 15, Washington School 15, Taylorsville 14, Louisville 13, Caledonia 10, Hernando 9, Laurel 8, Columbus 7, Houston 7, (Madison) St. Joseph 7, Hinds AHS 6, Presbyterian Christian 5, South Jones 5, Vancleave 5, Madison-Ridgeland Academy 3, Bay 2, D’Iberville 2, West Marion 2, Eupora 1

MPB Week 3 Top 25 Poll

2012 Week Three MPB High School Football Top 25 – 8.28.12
RK	SCHOOL (1st)	CL	W-L	POINTS	LW
1	South Panola (10)	6A	1-0	713	1
2	Olive Branch (6)	6A	2-0	706	2
3	Meridian (6)	6A	2-0	692	3
4	Picayune (8)	5A	2-0	685	4
5	Lafayette County	4A	2-0	583	5
6	Brandon	6A	2-0	574	8
7	Noxubee County	4A	2-0	557	7
8	Madison Central	6A	1-1	509	10
9	West Point	5A	0-1	444	9
10	Pascagoula	5A	2-0	422	17
11	Biloxi	6A	1-1	399	11
12	Tylertown	4A	2-0	373	15
13	Petal	6A	1-1	347	6
14	Hattiesburg	6A	2-0	261	NR
15	Jackson Prep	AAA-1	2-0	247	18
16	Oak Grove	6A	2-0	216	24
17	Ocean Springs	6A	1-1	199	14
18	Hazlehurst	3A	2-0	192	21
19	Charleston	3A	1-1	191	12
20	Jackson Academy	AAA-1	2-0	188	20
21	West Bolivar	2A	2-0	185	23
22	Oxford	5A	2-0	121	NR
23	Starkville	5A	0-2	105	13
24	Wayne County	5A	0-2	90	16
25	Bassfield	2A	2-0	71	NR
Dropped Out: Pearl (19), Laurel (22), Louisville (25)
Others Receiving Votes: Forrest County AHS 67, Quitman 67, Columbus 54, Gulfport 52, Louisville 51, New Hope 47, Bruce 41, Pearl River Central 41, Water Valley 39, Philadelphia 31, Brookhaven 30, Pearl 26, Itawamba AHS 20, (Cleveland) East Side 18, Amory 16, Clinton 13, Taylorsville 12, Laurel 11, West Jones 11, Northwest Rankin 7, Franklin County 6, Canton 5, D’Iberville 5, Provine 5, Madison-Ridgeland Academy 3, Bay 2, Lake Cormorant 2, Ridgeland 2, Booneville 1, Washington School 1, West Marion 1

Maroon Tide Thump Petal in Top Ten Matchup

PICAYUNE—Dodd Lee felt his team’s game against the Petal Panthers might be decided in the final minutes of the game, and after the first half, it seemed likely.  However, Picayune dominated the second half on their way to a 56-35 victory Saturday.

“I told somebody that it was probably going to be decided in the fourth quarter, probably by a kick,” said Lee. “It wasn’t, and I’m glad we won.”

Offense dominated the first half as the teams traded touchdowns on every full possession on their way to a 21-21 tie.

Desmond Taylor, who led Picayune with 188 yards on the ground, opened the scoring on the Maroon Tide’s second play from scrimmage when he broke free for a 73-yard touchdown run with 11:55 to play in the first quarter.

Petal answered with a ten play drive capped off by Larson Barkurn’s one-yard plunge to tie the game at 7-7.

Preston Dedeaux guided the Maroon Tide offense for the rest of the first half, scoring on a five-yard touchdown run with 2:04 in the first quarter, and he threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Daveone Green on a halfback option with 3:04 left in the first half.

Petal put their other scores on the board when Tyus Raine, who ran for 88 yards, scored on a nine-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 14-14 with 10:33 in the first half, and the Panthers tied the game at 21-21 when Barkurn, who finished 15-for-24 for 203 yards, found Jesse Jackson on a ten-yard strike with 20 seconds left in the half.

In the second half, the Maroon Tide defense stopped Petal on five of their seven possessions, and Petal coach Marcus Boyles blamed his play calling for much of the turmoil.

“That was my fault in the second half,” said Boyles. “I got away from some things that were working. I thought they were going to make some adjustments, and they didn’t. “

The Panthers ran the ball more in the second half, and Boyles said that went against their game plan.

“We knew we wanted to throw the football because we knew they were going to play zero coverage, and we just felt like we could be them with Jesse and Jamarcus,” said Boyles. “We did, and I got away from that for whatever reason. That is my own fault. Sometimes you out-think or out-coach yourself, and I did that tonight.”

The Maroon Tide stayed true to their script in the second half.

Two plays after Dedeaux had a 93-yard touchdown run negated by a holding call, Jonathan Baker took the ball 84 yards to put Picayune ahead 28-21.

Petal took advantage of a drive saving pass interference penalty, and Barkurn scored on a 14-yard touchdown run to tie the game with 7:47 to go in the third quarter.

Ben Hickman put the Maroon Tide ahead for good with a quarterback keeper from one yard out with 4:24 to play in the third, giving his team a 35-28 lead.

The Maroon Tide (2-0) defense shut down the Petal offense on their next three possessions, highlighted by an interception by Kardarius Cross, and the Picayune offense scored touchdowns on each of the ensuing possessions to break the game open.

Dedeaux, who finished the night with 147 yards on the ground, scored on a seven-yard run. Taylor found the end zone on a 76-yard romp, and he scored again on a 14 yard carry to put Picayune ahead 56-28 with 7:32 to play.

“We knew we were playing a good football team,” said Lee. “I didn’t know if we were going to win or not for a while, but we got a couple of stops in the second half.”

Petal (1-1) scored their final points with 5:43 to play when John Windham scored from one yard out.

Jackson finished the night with 63 yards on six catches, and Southern Miss commit Jamarcus Revies hauled in six balls for 125 yards.

The Maroon Tide host Forrest County AHS Friday, and the Panthers host Madison Central.