5A Playoff Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The race for the state title in 5A kicks off on Friday night with a quality slate of games across Mississippi. The biggest question (which is the same as last year) surrounds West Point and Picayune and if they will be able to continue their hold on the 5A ranks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MATCHUPS:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Holmes County Central (7-4) @ West Point (8-2)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Columbus (5-6) @ Neshoba Central (7-3)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cleveland Central (5-6) @ Vicksburg (7-2)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Callaway (8-2) @ Lafayette (7-4)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Vancleave (7-3) @ Hattiesburg (6-4)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wayne County (7-4) @ Gautier (8-2)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Laurel (5-5) @ Picayune (11-0)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>East Central (8-2) @ West Jones (7-3)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WHAT TO WATCH FOR: </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5A has belonged to West Point for the majority of the decade but Picayune bested them in the 2021 state title game. 2022 has appeared that the two are again on a collision course to face off in Hattiesburg in early December. Will this come to fruition?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>GAME OF THE WEEK:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Callaway @ Lafayette County - Callaway always has athletes and this season is no exception. Lafayette plays physical and tough for Coach Michael Fair and is led offensively by Jayden Reed with nearly 1,500 yards and 25 TD's.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TEAM TO BEAT:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Picayune - At 11-0 and outscoring opponents 439-114 on the year, it's hard not to choose the Maroon Tide. [player_tooltip player_id='108971' first='Dante' last='Dowdell'] and [player_tooltip player_id='344053' first='Chris' last='Davis'] is most likely the best two headed backfield in the state with 33 combined TDs on the ground. With the exception of last week's matchup against Gautier, the Picayune defense had not given up more than 13 points in a game all season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Darkhorse:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Vicksburg - The best defense in the classification may belong to the Gators as they've allowed less than 100 points on the year. Vicksburg dominated Region 2 and with the exception of two non-division games against 6A opponents to open the year (Germantown and Warren Central), have not been tested very often.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->