Week 14 of high school football season is here. Here are my predictions for teams in the Hattiesburg-area and Covington County.
Petal (8-4) at Meridian (6-6)-When it comes to big games like this, I often have a hard time picking against Petal. We have a history of sorts. My first year on the job, the Panthers went on that miraculous run to Oxford. I learned a couple of things about Petal and their football program that season. No. 1, Stephon Huderson is pretty good at this football thing. No. 2, Marcus Boyles could coach any team at any level and win a whole lot of ballgames. Finally, No. 3 and most importantly, Petal doesn’t lose games in November. This is known.
Petal 34, Meridian 27
Poplarville (12-0) at Purvis (6-6)-Man, I’ve gone back and forth on this one. If you asked me to pick it a few weeks back, I’d say Poplarville in a heartbeat. But right now, Purvis is looking like a very dangerous team having won two straight road playoff games. Now comes their biggest test against the Hornets, who have very few, if any, major weaknesses. Let’s be honest, the regular season was a disappointment for Purvis. Thus far in the playoffs, though, the Tornadoes are looking like the team we expected from the get-go. I don’t know what it is, but something tells me they might just shock the world Friday night.
Purvis 38, Poplarville 35
Hattiesburg (12-0) at Stone (8-3)-There may be one or two teams in the state that can beat Hattiesburg right now. I feel confident in saying Stone is not one of those teams. Yes, the Tomcats have won five in a row and are a solid football team. But are they special? No. Having witnessed what Hattiesburg is doing right now, I know the Tigers are. They played nowhere near a perfect game last week against a tough South Jones team and won 50-0. They also beat Stone 62-27 earlier this season. Expect a similar score differential in Friday’s rematch.
Hattiesburg 42, Stone 17
Taylorsville (12-1) at North Forrest (9-4)-North Forrest has played some tough teams this season. Lumberton, Collins, Perry Central to name a few. That gauntlet continues this week against Taylorsville. I’d say the Tartars and Collins are neck-and-neck as 2A frontrunners right now. The Eagles will no doubt need their best performance of the season to come out on top in this one. Either way it will be an uphill climb. Taylorsville has been consistently dominant to this point and appears to be on a collision course with Collins. Hard to not roll with the Tartars here.
Taylorsville 31, North Forrest 20
Collins (11-2) at Bay Springs (8-5)-Bay Springs has played really well down the stretch, but a lot like my take on Taylorsville, this just feels like Collins’ year. The Tigers have won 11 games in a row. You don’t just mess around and do that by luck. Sure, Bay Springs is a tough place to play, but Collins is battle-tested to say the least. Eric Booth has these Tigers rolling and that should continue this week in what should be a back-and-forth game.
Collins 27, Bay Springs 23
