David

The Hounds might be a little ahead of schedule on offense, mainly because the QB coming in to replace Hubbard has improved by the play and knows his role in limiting turnovers and playing well within his abilities. The recent return of the speed RB is adding another weapon. What concerns me is that lack of competitive games that you mention. Having only one division game against a top team isn’t ideal when the other division is playing four decent teams back to back. That hurts at playoff time when asked to elevate their level of play. Oak Grove may have lost a game, and could lose another, but that only sharpens their game. Ocean Springs did play a tough early schedule, and won most, so they’re trying to improve. At this point I think you could pick a favorite in the south out of up to a half dozen teams, depending on how each keeps improving.

I’m thinking that both Pearl and NW Rankin could beat Brandon, and Oak Grove too, if they play their best game. That division could be won by a tie breaker.

I’m trying to get a count on total turnovers for that O.S. defense. Two pick 6s this past Friday. They’ve had games with 5-6 turnovers, which is either luck or forced by hard hitting and positioning. Everybody loves talking about offensive scoring, including me when the Hounds averaged 40+ last year. But even in high school, a great defense opens up the offense. That experienced group could be a big part of making a run in the playoffs.

No doubt. As usual, even the #3 and 4 traveling to the Coast will make tough opponents for whoever they play. Ocean Springs has seen NW Rankin in a come from behind win, and I’m thinking there are three equal teams below OG. But, your Warriors have to play to their talent level, or just getting a playoff spot might be in danger. Even though Brandon seems to be playing well, any upsets could open up that race to five different teams.

I gained a lot of respect for both teams, but especially Hancock for coming from behind to make this a close game at the end. Both will be a problem in the playoffs, even if they don’t win the division championship.

Last night’s results have set up an interesting run to division championships and seeding for the playoffs. While 60% of teams make the postseason, getting home field throughout might be the most important factor. With Brandon taking the lead in #3, still many games upcoming to change the pecking order. The top two does seem to be set, but below that, it might be a dogfight for the other two spots. Meridian has inserted themselves back into the picture with their win over Rankin, and Pearl is also tied. On the Coast, I think it’s obviously Ocean Springs and Gulfport to battle in a couple of weeks, then anybody’s guess who advances after that. St. Martin seems to be the only outlier. As usual, division 3 will probably be favored in the first round games, but in this weird season, who knows. If O.S. keeps improving, they might actually be right at the top eventually. Who knew?

Down goes the last undefeated team in 7A. This was the most anticipated game of the early season. I didn’t see this result coming, especially with the final being not close. Oak Grove got shocked early, but didn’t lay down, and got back in it in the second half before Brandon pulled away. Got to assume these two are still on track to meet up in the playoffs, with only Ocean Springs and possibly Gulfport having a shot at knocking them out. NW Rankin’s shocking loss to Meridian knocks them out of contention along with Pearl, though more upsets could happen. If defense wins championships, Ocean Springs has to have a puncher’s chance, if they can get by Gulfport.

Hancock came back to make a game of it, but George Cty. held on for the win. Two pretty tough playoff teams, but I think Picayune still wins division easily. Just can’t see either of these teams giving the Tide a game.

Yeah, I’m starting to get that. Semantics, I guess, but I tend to put one or two teams in the elite level and those just below as mediocre. Full disclosure, I’m calling my O.S. Greyhounds mediocre too at this point. Let me try again. 7A South Elite: Oak Grove 7A South Prime: NW Rankin, Brandon, Ocean Springs. 7A South Down, but not out: Pearl, Gulfport. Warren Central being 6A is out of my field.

That’s fair. We’ll see how they position themselves for the playoffs up north. Seem to be on the level with Germantown as far as having a chance to beat Starkville and get a home playoff spot. Doing that would move them out of mediocrity in my mind. What I saw for them in the first game of the season against O.S. was a team that was rough and needed to improve.

Believe me, I hope that they aren’t, since they’re the only team to beat my Greyhounds so far, but they have a 4-3 record, which is the definition of middle of the road, and a three game losing streak that ended by beating Murray, I think. Maybe the better choice of words would have been “ a step down from the better north half teams”. As it relates to this conversation, they were certainly playing much better when they easily beat Brandon early on.”

Friday morning pick in this rivalry game: Brandon seems to have gotten past their poor start to the season, losing to a good Picayune and then to a mediocre Madison Central as they struggled to find their usual form, especially on defense. They then beat mediocre Gulfport and Warren Central teams leading into district play. Finally running the ball with their smash mouth RB and passing a little better, they come in on a bit of a roll. Oak Grove has been as advertised on offense as their young skill players have shown up grown up. Less turnovers, more diverse play calling has led to wins over a good Hoover team in a historic first MS win. But, this defense has allowed quite a bit of scoring. MRA is perhaps understandable, but letting Meridian score big points is concerning opening division play. Looks like the dynamics point to a high scoring game. Being in Oak Grove gives a bit of an advantage to the Warriors. Brandon’s recent playoff success is to their favor in a big game situation. Flip a coin here, and it comes up…..Oak Grove 38-35.

One contributing factor to their disappointing season is the incident that occurred in the fall practice time. A couple of their important starters got into a fight in the locker room, which would have normally been handled by the coaching staff internally. But, a kid on the assisting staff recorded the incident on his phone and posted it on social media, triggering a school system action which suspended the players involved for the season. This might not have caused all of the losses, but it certainly didn’t help.

But, shouldn’t we consider West Jones the best team in district 3, or did their 2-0 snoozefest win knock them down below H’burg?

So, we’re assuming that George Cty. is that really good team? I’m still not sold on them being more than a decent team with a great QB. Maybe they keep improving enough to give Picayune a run for the title. That’s the high point for any team hoping to get respect in 6A south.

That I agree with. Might want to win by two touchdowns so that the scoreboard shows a one touchdown finish.

Like you, my opinion of these two teams was influenced by what we saw in the playoffs last year. But, now I’m seeing one team much improved on offense, O.G., and one who started the season struggling. The opposite factor is that O.G. is struggling on defense, and Brandon picking up their offense lately. Maddox has almost eliminated the turnovers that killed their playoff hopes last year in O.S. On the other hand, Brandon lost a lot of size and a lot of receivers since last year. One team is better than last season and at home. Still riding the O.G. bandwagon right now.

The limited video and sports reporting I’ve seen does show them trying to vary their offense to get better, and the defense does tackle well. That being said, beating weaker and smaller opponents doesn’t improve your grit, and might even give players and coaches a false sense of superiority. Knight is a different kind of problem than anything they’ve seen.

I’ll make a run at taking the Hancock side. This team has been playing 7A ball since the players have been around. The program has improved the last few years, even if the record didn’t show it. Their size will be much greater than what I’ve seen from G.C. lately. QB Moran has run the offense for three years now, and they have some receiver talent. That RB is up over 130 yds a game. Defense has stopped whatever team the weak schedule has put in front of them. Gotta like the feel good story for a school that hasn’t seen this much success in decades. Finally, the stands are humming again. It does seem like GC is coming together on offense, even in the loss to H’burg and the warmup last week. Some have said that the locker room chemistry is not great, but winning solves a lot of that. I’ll pick Hancock here with my heart, though I did vote with my brain for GC.

Once again, this rivalry is the most impelling story in south Mississippi 7A. The winner assumes the favorite’s role in this district and probably the rest of the south and the state. Gotta like the O.G. offensive talent and speed, though their defense hasn’t been as good as advertised. Brandon started ice cold, but turned it around and come in on a pretty good run. Home field is the kicker, and I’m looking at the Warriors at this point. Better get to your seats early. Should be a packed house.

Lots of D1 quality players all around the state.

Thanks for sharing. Here’s the entire list.

I’m thinking that the George Cty. we saw earlier, the GC that Hattiesburg saw, and the GC that hits the field in the playoffs will be three different teams. Once Knight gets back in synch with his offense, they will be much better. They won’t beat Picayune or West Jones, but they just might be the third best 6A team in the south eventually.

Brandon travels to Oak Grove? Home field might be the difference.

Is this the final word on his availability? How do I say this gracefully? Is it all about pain management, or are the doctors and coaches holding him a bit longer for the late season run?