The Northwest Rankin Cougars will head out on the road to square off against the Ocean Springs Greyhounds at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Northwest Rankin has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the game with three straight losses, while Ocean Springs will come in with five straight victories.
Northwest Rankin is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Mississippi's top teams: Brandon, who was ranked first in their home state at the time (Northwest Rankin was ranked 22nd). Northwest Rankin lost 45-22 to Brandon on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Ocean Springs took their match on Thursday with ease, bagging a 42-15 win over St. Martin. With the Greyhounds ahead 28-0 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
Ocean Springs' victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Sharroid Whitehead, who threw for 62 yards and two touchdowns, and also punched in a rushing score. Ayden Watson made the highlight reel by snagging an interception and taking it all the way to the house.
Ocean Springs' defense stepped up as well, laying out Kevin Marshall. seven times. The heavy lifting was done by Brody Saenz and Bryant Ausmer, who racked up four sacks between them. Ocean Springs is undefeated when Ausmer posts one or more sacks, but 3-4 otherwise. Ricky Orso was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making seven total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Ocean Springs has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season. Those victories were due in large part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 14.6 points per game. As for Northwest Rankin, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-5.
Northwest Rankin barely slipped by Ocean Springs in their previous matchup back in September, winning 29-28. Does Northwest Rankin have another victory up their sleeve, or will Ocean Springs turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
