maroontide06

Don’t know. I’ve been waiting for him to post a fathead of The Stog LOL!

Dub it was honestly a combination of the offense playing better and also the defense playing better. The first half against Gulfport was honestly the worst football I’ve seen Picayune play in a long, long time. The score right before halftime seemed to ignite the comeback, but it took a total team effort to overcome that deficit. The Maroon Tide offense is all about execution. I’ve heard Dodd say before that it doesn’t matter if the opponent knows what you are doing or not. It’s can they stop it? If they can’t stop it, you can literally tell them what play you are going to run and it won’t matter. Not that I would encourage that, but I think you get the idea.

I don’t think so either. Poplarville is playing at home and I know they’ll be fired up to play West Jones. West Jones may win comfortably, but the Jay Beech I know is going to be a thorn in the flesh. Poplarville is the Hornets and they are the Hornets for a reason.

You’ve been around MST a long time and I know you don’t post much anymore, but do you think West Jones gets to the hot clock margin or can Poplarville put together a couple of scoring drives to keep it a full ballgame?

I kind of got the vibe Poplarville might have been down some this year, but heck they will still have a winning season and they will still make the playoffs. I’m sure there’s plenty of teams that would love to be in Poplarville’s shoes even when it’s a so called down year for them. They consistently put out a good product up there. I just hope that whatever is happening at the junior college ain’t infecting the high school LOL.

@MerlinI know you've got some thoughts on this one, so expound away LOL!

Here's another interesting game this week on tap. I kind of feel like we know where the scales will tip in this one, but Jay Beech is sure going to make it interesting for West Jones. That offense is difficult to defend because you really don't know where the ball is going from a fan's perspective in the stands. I feel like a game like this will come down to cleanliness and execution. Poplarville may not be able to out athlete West Jones, but with the offense they run you don't necessarily need to. If Poplarville plays a clean game on offense and gets a couple of stops on defense, look out. West Jones could be in for a dandy.

David I completely understand your line of thinking here and on paper it might would seem to make sense, but this line of thinking only works if there is a falloff from the starter to the backup/relievers. But this is where things kind of get contrary to that line of thinking. In a way, the stable of backs that Picayune has more than makes up for that one loss and if anything it's only going to help #4, #5, #20, etc. to get better because they will get more repetitions. The falloff that you would normally expect just isn't there.

State's gonna git their butts handed to them on a gold platter because silver just ain't fancy enough, plus it tarnishes. I really wish the outcome could be different, but I just don't see how you fix the problems that State had against LSU in a week's time. I would love to be wrong and for State to go to Columbia and get a convincing win, but until State's coaching staff sees the need to align their starting QB with their offensive coaching philosophy, it's gonna be another train wreck I'm afraid. Now if they come to their senses sooner before it's too late and too late is at kickoff, then State is probably gonna graduate to a paper sack LOL!

Up to this point, Picayune has probably had the tougher schedule but that's not to take away from Ocean Springs. They've had a tough schedule as well and that's a good thing. I don't expect this game to be a blow out one way or the other, but I do expect Picayune to play a full game and if they meet that expectation then I don't see the Maroon Tide coming away with a loss in this one.

Great analysis here, but based off of what you are saying, do you think that Ocean Springs beats Gulfport in a head to head matchup? It's a district game so it will happen later in the season. I'm also curious about you mentioning Ocean Springs' defense. What makes their defense one of the best in the state in your opinion?

Vott, you think them Hardy Street High Golden Buzzards will pick up a win? LOL!

I'm sure that was a great ballgame to watch Dub. Congrats to OG on finding a way to win. Even great, championship teams have their struggles. They just get them fixed when it matters.

Picayune just needs to put a complete game together and consistently do it. When Picayune is on they are dominant and there's no question there. It just needs to be for 4 full quarters.

How does State correct the disaster of a performance that they had against LSU on all fronts in a week's time? It all starts with the coaches to get it right, but can they? It just seems like there's some legitimate concerns there and it seems like there's some sort of disconnect. This team is far too talented to be having these issues, but here they are. If Barbay is trying to reinvent the wheel and overcomplicate things, State could be in for a long season.

If Picayune comes out flat and looks like they've never played a football game before, then yes we'll definitely spot Ocean Springs that 21 with ease. However, if Picayune shows up to play and hits the gas pedal from the start I don't see it happening. It's all going to depend on how Picayune attacks this game.

Not having #6 in the backfield for the foreseeable future is definitely a loss, but it's not a detriment. The backs that we have are more than capable of filling in the void there. Maybe we'll have some addition by subtraction offensively and if that's the case we'll be just fine.

Dang. Long Beach really messed up and screwed up perfection there. I didn't realize it was a 29 game skid though. That's definitely an impressive stat. LOL Just kidding though, it's probably good that they get to taste victory again. Those boys probably busted their tails off to beat Purvis.

That's a fluke LOL!

I guess that's why I'm kind of hesitant on them. But you're right they definitely are improved and they've beaten everyone they've played like a drum which is what good teams are supposed to do against, call it as you will, inferior competition.

That’s a very interesting line of thought there. I certainly wouldn’t discount that insight. Hancock could very well be the real deal, but I guess we need to see how they do in region play. If they are able to set the cruise control in region play, we could very well be in the same boat as y’all the last game of the regular season.

I’ll be dipped. Folks are voting on this poll. Keep’em coming. Voting stops at kickoff, so you’ve got plenty of time to vote. Even if you have no rooting interest in either one of these teams, go ahead and make a selection. If you feel like posting anything about why you made the selection that you did, feel free to share those thoughts as well. I’m honestly curious to know how this game is going to go.

You can only play who’s on your schedule, but Hancock has definitely dominated their opponents so far. If they keep this domination up in district play, then look out. There very well could be a grand finale type game the last time week of the regular season in Region 4-6A.

A lot of times, you’ll wind up looking at common opponents to try to gauge how you’ll fair against the opposing team. Picayune and Ocean Springs have two common opponents in D’Iberville and Gulfport. Picayune has already played both of those teams and grabbed victories. Ocean Springs OTOH has yet to play them because district play hasn’t started yet. I feel pretty comfortable about Ocean Springs beating D’Iberville, but the X-factor for me is how the Ocean Springs-Gulfport game plays out. I feel like if you knew the outcome of that game, you would have a little bit more clarity in how this game could possibly play out. It’s high school football, so anything could happen, but at least you might would have some more clarity.

@Dubaction the old school polls have got to get back started sometime, LOL.