Week Eleven – Mississippi High School Football “Elite” Top Ten

We are down to the final two weeks of the regular season which means tension, some teams will be eliminated from playoff contention and others will battle for region supremacy.  It truly is a great time to take in a game on Friday night in Mississippi.  Make sure you soak up the next two weeks because it should be spectacular.

We will continue to update our poll as the playoffs arrive and be predicting most all playoff brackets.

Let’s get right to our poll and this week’s games.

This week’s Elite – 10 poll:

1 – Starkville

2 – South Panola

3 – Brandon

4 – Oxford

5 – Picayune

6 – Clinton

7 – Ocean Springs

8 – Oak Grove

9 – Warren Central

10 –New Hope

Just Missed the Cut:  West Jones, Wayne County, Southaven, Pearl

Last Week: 5-2

Yearly Predictions: 67-14

No. 10 New Hope at West Point

The Trojans travel into West Point this weekend to take on the Green Wave In a key region game that’s likely to determine the second seed in Region 1-5A.  Both of these teams are explosive and both of these teams have high playoff aspirations.  126-total points were scored last year between these two as West Point won going away, 76-50. I doubt anyone expects this game to be this high of a slugfest this year, but a great one nonetheless.

West Point 37 New Hope 33

No. 8 Oak Grove at Provine

The Warriors travel to Hughes Field and visit a rejuvenated Rams team from Provine, looking to slip into the playoffs.  Oak Grove is coming off their first loss in 14-games and needs to regroup quickly.

A win for the Rams increases their chances for the playoffs, while a win by Oak Grove will solidify them with a 2-seed in Region-3 and a first round home game.

Provine has improved drastically, but it still won’t be enough to defeat the defending champs.

Oak Grove 28 Provine 14

No. 7 Ocean Springs versus Gulfport

It’s a key Region4-6A game down on the coast as Ocean Springs looks to keep pace with Hattiesburg for the number one spot in this region.  Their task this week is the Admirals of Gulfport.  Gulfport is hanging on by a thread as far as their playoff hopes are alive and need a win here in a big way.

This game should be a highly contested ball game and has major implications within the region.

Ocean Springs 27 Gulfport 21

No. 6 Clinton at Greenville

Clinton heads north to Greenville and looks to keep pace with Starkville for the number one seed in Region-2.  Should the Arrows win, it sets up a potentially huge showdown next week at Clinton between them and the Yellow Jackets.

Clinton 40  Greenville 14

No. 5 Picayune verse East Central

It’s senior night for the Maroon Tide as they eye another region crown and first round playoff game at home in two weeks.

Picayune 38 East Central 7

No. 4 Oxford versus Center Hill

Jonny Hill’s Chargers entertain the Mustangs of Center Hill on Senior Night and should have no problem locking up their region championship this Friday.

Oxford 44  Center Hill 20

No. 3 Brandon versus Jim Hill

We continue with the senior night mantra as the Bulldogs host the Tigers of Jim Hill.  Brandon can lock up their second straight Region-3 championship with a win and secure a first round playoff home game.

Brandon 45  Jim Hill 7

No. 2 South Panola at Grenada

It’s a Region-1 one showdown between the Chargers of Grenada and the Tigers of South Panola.  If Panola wins they all but lock the region up; however if the Chargers can spring the upset, they have the inside track to number one.

This game should be close for a while, but then Panola’s depth and experience should take over.  While the Chargers have closed the gap on the Tigers, that gap is still pretty wide.

South Panola 47 Grenada 21

GAME OF THE WEEK:

No. 9 Warren Central at No. 1 Starkville

Warren Central had everything going their way until last week, when Clinton beat them 14-13 in a defensive slugfest.

Starkville has been on cruise control since early in the season, but now things could get interesting.

The Vikings have one of the best defenses in the state, while the Yellow jackets have one of the best offenses in all of Mississippi.

Its strength on strength and last year, Warren Central got the best of Starkville 12-9.  This year should be another close one with the Jackets getting the edge.

Starkville 20 Warren Central 13