The Friday Night Lookahead keeps you updated weekly on the upcoming slate of high school football action for our area. Here is a look at who’ll play where this Friday. All start times at 7 p.m. CST unless otherwise noted.

 

Brookhaven High (4-1) vs. Florence High (3-1)

King Field, Brookhaven

Just as it did last season, the 2024 matchup between Brookhaven High and the Florence Eagles will go a long way in deciding how things shake out in Region 3-5A. 

Florence won 24-21 last year to finish first in the division ahead of BHS. The Eagles also won 25-14 in 2022, which was their first win over BHS after the Panthers previously took the first five matchups in the series.

Brookhaven High has had a week off to recuperate and regroup after losing its first game of the season at 7A Northwest Rankin High by a 35-30 final score. 

The Panthers battled with Northwest Rankin in a game that they clawed back into late and it looked like BHS would have a chance to put together one last late drive for the lead, but the officials called an offside penalty on an onside kick recovered by Brookhaven. After that NWR was able to run out the clock.

Sophomore quarterback Jaden Allen finished 15-of-39 passing for 274 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception in the loss.

Six different receivers hauled in a pass against NWR, led by junior Dreamus Harron Jr. with four catches for 79 yards and two scores. Senior Devion Brown caught four passes for 73 yards and one touchdown. Junior Jeremy Bibbs caught three passes for 49 yards and one score. Senior Samarion Buckley had two catches for 22 yards, junior EJ Ratliff had one catch for 33 yards and junior TJ Smith hauled in one catch for 18 yards.

Junior Caiden Quarles led the way with 76 yards on the ground on 21 carries. Allen also picked up 38 yards rushing. Junior Crews Stewart went 1-of-1 on PAT kick attempts while sophomore Isaac Iles finished 2-of-2 in PAT kicks against NWR. Iles also made a 28-yard field goal.

Jamaal Brown led the Panther defense at NWR with 11 tackles. William Buie added nine stops while DJ Washington and Rameriaze Edwards made seven tackles each. Washington made two tackles for a loss and Brown had one.

The Ole Brook defense also created five turnovers in the loss. Ratliff, Edwards and freshman Hampton Smith each snagged an interception. Washington and Derwin Fields each recovered a fumble for BHS.

Florence is in year number six under head coach and former Southern Miss standout linebacker Rod Davis. The Eagles went 8-5 last season and 7-4 the year before after going a combined 8-23 during the first three years under Davis.

The Eagles started the 2024 season out with a 24-0 win over Forest Hill and a 24-3 loss to Ridgeland. Florence then beat Mendenhall 36-6 and last week the Eagles won 35-34 at home in overtime over 6A Hancock.

In that win over Hancock, Florence got 71 yards passing and one touchdown from quarterback Kayne Ashley. Under Davis, the Eagles have been a team that kept the ball moving via the ground game. Their top rusher against Hancock was junior running back Bryan Davis with 112 yards on 12 carries. Davis averaged 9.3 yard per carry, had a long rush go for 59 yards and scored one touchdown.

 

Loyd Star (4-2) vs. Amite County (1-5)

Hornet Field, Hwy. 550

After a 44-0 win over Wilkinson County last week, the win streak for the Loyd Star Hornets has reached four games and they’ll look to add to that tally by hosting Amite County for another Region 7-2A matchup on Friday.

Sophomore quarterback Phillip Ross Spencer was a standout for head coach Adam Smith and his staff in the win last week over Wilkinson County. Spencer went 2-of-2 passing for 69 yards and one score. On the ground, he carried the ball 16 times for 119 yards and three touchdowns.

Sophomore running back Jordyn Kees rushed 12 times for 149 yards and one touchdown and the Hornets also got a score on the ground from Luke Cotton. Junior Anthony Humphrey caught both passes thrown by Spencer including the touchdown.

Humphrey also snagged an interception for the stingy Hornet defense against Wilkinson County. Carson Cunningham led the Loyd Star defense with 14 tackles and two tackles for a loss. Junior Cooper Creel chipped in 12 tackles for the Hornets and LaJavion Nelson also had a tackle for loss as well.

With Loyd Star easily dispatching Wilkinson County last week and Bogue Chitto having similar results against Amite County, it only ramps up how important the looming Possum Bowl is for the Hornets and Bobcats on Oct. 11.

What Loyd Star can’t do is look past the Trojans, as the two schools have had some great matchups in years past, despite what their records might have been prior to kickoff.

The Hornets have a three-game win streak going against AC, but two of those were nail biters. Last season in Liberty, Loyd Star made game-winning plays late in a 19-12 victory that saw both teams playing lights out defensively. The last time the teams met at Loyd Star, the Hornets held on for a 41-40 victory in 2021. When Loyd Star won their region in 2018, their closest win on the division slate was a 50-46 shootout with the Trojans.

Amite County got a kickoff return touchdown from freshman Donald Tobias and one rushing score each from senior Kewan Miner and senior Xzavier Allen in a 35-20 home loss to Bogue Chitto last week.

The Trojans beat Richland High 20-14 in overtime to start the season and have since suffered five straight losses to Bogue Chitto, Hazlehurst, Crystal Springs, Franklin County, and Perry Central.

 

Bogue Chitto (3-3) at West Lincoln (1-5)

Perry Miller Field, Flea Hop

Region 7-2A play begins this week for West Lincoln as the Bears and coach Johnny Ball played a non-division game last week, a 50-7 loss at Stringer.

Bogue Chitto has won six straight games against their country rivals from West Lincoln, including a 41-0 final score last season.

Sophomore Jayden Poole was outstanding carrying the ball for the BC offense last week in a 35-20 win at Amite County. Poole rushed 21 times for 148 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Isaiah Collins also rushed for a score in that win.

Sophomore quarterback Alex-Michael Roberts deftly led the BC offense in the win over Amite County. He passed for 95 yards and one touchdown on 10-of-14 passing. Senior wideout Noah Magee caught two passes for 69 yards and one score. Collins had one catch for 27 yards, Poole had three catches for 26 yards and Timothy Kirkland caught four passes for 22 yards.

Warren Wallace led the Bobcat defense with 12 tackles in the victory, including two tackles for a loss. Poole made 10 tackles, including one for a loss. Ethan Bales and Kayson Magee had one sack each for the Bobcats. Magee also picked off a pass that he returned for 60 yards against the Trojans.

West Lincoln has averaged seven points per game in its four losses and scored 41 in its win over Salem. The game will serve as Homecoming 2024 for West Lincoln.

 

Enterprise (4-2) at Resurrection Catholic (3-3)

War Memorial Stadium, Pascagoula

Enterprise played well but could not overcome Lumberton last week in their region opener, falling 36-25. All that coach Trey Woodard and his team want to accomplish is still out there, ready for the taking.

The Jackets want to finish in the top four of Region 8-1A and make the playoffs. In order to do that, they’ll need to do something no EAC team has ever done, beat Resurrection Catholic.

The Eagles from Pascagoula are 5-0 all-time against the Yellow Jackets. RCS beat Enterprise 36-6 last season and 48-6 the season before. The Eagles also won 48-12 in 2021. The first two meetings between the school in 2014 (55-0) and 2013 (42-0) were also big wins for Resurrection Catholic.

Resurrection is on a three-game winning streak after starting the season with three straight losses. To begin the season, the Eagles lost to Bay High (34-3), Presbyterian Christian (36-13), and Richton (19-7). They’ve since bounced back with wins over Mount Olive (40-14), Saint Patrick (14-13), and Salem (16-6).

 

Brookhaven Academy (2-6) at Silliman Institute (5-2)

Wildcat Field, Clinton, La.

With the home portion of its schedule finished, the Brookhaven Academy Cougars will now close out 2024 with three straight road contests, beginning with a district matchup at Silliman Institute in Clinton, Louisiana.

BA lost 49-20 to Simpson Academy last week at home. The Cougars from SA led 35-6 at halftime, as BA got on the scoreboard via a long kickoff return touchdown by Trace Garrett. Senior quarterback Braden Revere rushed for two scores on the ground for BA after halftime, with one of them covering 64 yards. 

Silliman is on a three-game winning streak with victories over Centreville Academy (34-0), Adams County Christian School (41-35), and Cathedral School (41-20).

What the Wildcats can do is put the ball in the air, as Centreville Academy transfer Parker Nettles is the leader of the Silliman offense at quarterback. Nettles threw four touchdowns in the MAIS District 3-5A win over Cathedral last week.

Silliman and Brookhaven Academy began playing in 1992 when the Wildcats moved to the MAIS from the now shuttered Louisiana association known as LISA. The Wildcats from East Feliciana Parish have won four straight over BA, including a 43-19 victory last season. The last win for the Cougars in the series came in 2012.the series came in 2012.

 

Wesson (5-0) at Port Gibson (3-3)

Blue Wave Field, Port Gibson

The regular season couldn’t have started better for Wesson as the Cobras will step into Region 7-3A play with a perfect record for a second straight year.

The Cobras were off last week ahead of this first division game. Two weeks ago in a 20-7 home win over Mize, coach Jeremy Loy and the Cobras got a 13-of-16, 160-yard passing performance from senior quarterback Cole Gibson. Gibson tossed three touchdowns with sophomore Damarion Smith catching two scores and Kemari Brown nabbing the other touchdown. On the ground, Wesson got 134 yards on just eight carries from senior Deshawn Smith. Smith scored one rushing touchdown.

Cotton Wesbrook and Hunter Meredith led the WAC defense with 10 tackles each. Senior defensive lineman Korbin Ashmore was his usual dominant self, getting seven tackles, two tackles for a loss, and two fumble recoveries. Senior Wyatt Garrett also tallied a sack for the Wesson defense.

Port Gibson has wins over Jim Hill, Wilkins County and Crystal Springs with losses to Murrah, Raymond, and Jefferson County.

The 45-12 win for Wesson over Port Gibson was the first in 10 meetings between the schools.