Lawrence County (7-1, 2-0), under the direction of second-year head coach Jaymie Palmer, captured a hard-fought 28-19 win over the McComb Tigers Friday to take over first place in the Region 6-4A standings.

This week, the Cougars are hungry for another division win as travel to Magnolia to battle the South Pike Eagles in a big Region 6-4A matchup

The Eagles (2-5, 1-1), coached by John Culpepper, defeated the Richland Rangers 26-12 Friday to earn their first district win.

Senior running back Marc Varnado led his Eagles last week with 245 yards rushing on 26 carries.

Corey Pittman and Brian Smith were the top tacklers for South Pike with seven tackles each. Kedarius Osbey, Darrion Carter and William Carter contributed five tackles each.

LCHS’ top offensive performer last week against McComb was junior running back Quitten Brown. He rushed 28 times for 109 yards, and caught a 44-yard touchdown pass. Brown also blocked a McComb punt.

Quarterback Charl’Tez Nunnery completed 9-of-15 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns. Nunnery also rushed for 34 yards on 10 carries.

Defensively, Azar Myles had 13 tackles and T-Tez Cole added 11 to power the Cougars. Myles and Cole combined for five tackles for losses. Brandon Armstrong recovered a fumble, and Mark Rhodes iced the game with a late pass interception.

Last year, Lawrence County squeezed out a 28-27 victory over South Pike in Monticello.

My prediction: Lawrence County will cruise past South Pike 42-21.