Lawrence County (10-1, 4-0),  under the direction of second-year coach Jaymie Palmer, captured its ninth win in a row last Friday with an impressive 42-25 win over the Florence Eagles in Monticello.

This week, the Cougars return to the playoffs for the first time since 2011. No.1 seeded LC will host the opening round of the Class 4A state playoffs tonight against a familiar rival, the Columbia Wildcats.

The Wildcats (4-5, 3-2), coached by James Harvey, fell to Poplarville 31-21 in their final game of the regular season.

Junior running back Fredrick Peters was the work horse for the Wildcats in the loss with 21 rushes for 206 yards and two touchdowns. For the season, Peters has 995 total yards rushing and 12 touchdowns.

Peters is also the leader on defense with 81 total tackles for the season. Antonio James is second with 64 total tackles. Rodraqus Coleman has 59 total tackles on the season.

LCHS’ top offensive performer last week against Florence was junior quarterback Charl-Tez Nunnery. He completed 4-of-11 passes for 61 yards and a touchdown. Nunnery was the leader on the ground with 82 yards rushing on 13 carries and two touchdowns.

T-Tez Cole helped the Cougars’ ground attack with seven rushes for 47 yards and a touchdown. He also caught two passes for 23 yards and a touchdown.

Rykendrick Harness had seven rushes for 51 yards. Marcus Atterberry was the top receiver with two catches for 50 yards.

Defensively, the Cougars’ inside linebacker corps of Azar Myles and T-Tez Cole led Lawrence County in tackles. Myles had 13 tackles and an interception. Cole finished with 13 tackles and had a fumble recovery. Brandon Armstrong and A.J. McLaurin contributed seven tackles each. Kemarcus Brown had six tackles.

My prediction: Lawrence County wins 49-28.