Oak Grove (Hattiesburg, Miss.) at Meridian (Miss.)
What to watch: Oak Grove (6-0) trying to knock off a state-ranked team for the second-straight week. The Warriors, who are ranked No. 1 in Mississippi by MaxPreps, downed previously unbeaten Petal, 31-14, last Friday. Senior quarterback
Kirk McCarty threw three touchdown passes, bringing his season total to 20. Meridian's only loss was against state-ranked South Panola (Batesville) on Sept. 6. The Wildcats feature a talented junior in
Jamarius Smith at quarterback. He has 1,062 passing yards with 12 touchdowns and only one interception in six games.
Just the facts: Few – if any -- high school offensive coordinators are future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but Oak Grove's is. Since the start of last season, the Warriors' OC position has belonged to former NFL quarterback Brett Favre. MaxPreps will have a profesional photographer there taking pictures … Friday night will mark the 16th time these teams have played in the last 10 seasons. Oak Grove won their lone meeting, 31-28, last year. But Meridian still has an 9-6 edge in games played since 2004.
Mitch Stephens: Meridian 28, Oak Grove 27
Kevin Askeland: Oak Grove 35, Meridian 32
Jamie DeMoney: Oak Grove 33, Meridian 28
Stephen Spiewak: Oak Grove 28, Meridian 21
Leland Gordon: Oak Grove 31, Meridian 27
Colin Ward-Henninger: Meridian 21, Oak Grove 20
