Prep RedZone MS Possible Brawls for it All Series: 4A

We are rounding out the regular season and moving into the heat of 2022 playoff football action as of now in Mississippi. There are a few brackets with match-ups between opponents that could shape the way champions are crowned in each class. From 4A, I will highlight which games stand out to me as potential games that will decide the fate of the entire playoff bracket. Games selected are expected to be all out brawls in the North or South half, depending on the match-up's classification and region. I choose these games based on both teams' overall records, prospects' talent levels, and probability of the two teams involved advancing on to win a title.   Indians on the Road to Unbeaten   Itawamba AHS (11-0) vs Senatobia (9-3)   Itawamba AHS is the odds on favorite in my eyes to sweep the first quadrant of the 4A North Playoff Bracket. I have them winning out of the North and securing a chance at the title, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. The Indians are loaded with talent and seem to be clicking on all cylinders heading into this post-season. Their first round match up was a rematch with a team they already handled fairly easy this year, Pontotoc. In non-district play was where the Indians first met up with Pontotoc. The playoff match up results were fairly similar; the Indians cruised to a 38-6 victory to move on to the second round. Senior QB Ty Davis had a decent game last week in an outing where he threw for 278 yards and completed over 60% of his pass attempts. Davis had help in that performance from 4-star prospect Issac Smith who caught 4 balls for nearly 100 yards and a touchdown. Both of these guys are accustomed to cranking out these types of games, if not better, on a regular basis In the second round of action the Indians face stiffer competition in the Senatobia Warriors. This week, I predict more of the same from Itawamba, but their supporting cast of players need to ball out to ensure an easy win. I expect big games from seniors Zion Ashby and Layth Holiday. That high powered offense and stingy defense over in Fulton, MS are sitting pretty with several potential prospective student-athletes. I'm eager to see if they can handle Senatobia as easily as they've handled the competition in their last 9 games.   The Indians' opponents of this second round contest are the Warriors of Senatobia. The 9-3 Warriors took on the 7-3 Kosciusko Whippets in their first round of action, and secured the victory 17-16. Kosi was a respectable opponent, but ultimately, Senatobia's offense was able to outlast the Whippets in the end. Honestly, I did not think this game would be as close as it was. Senatobia is a pretty good ball club, with great talent at the skilled positions. JaBrysten Adams heads the group, followed by Jay Bonner at quarterback and Khalil Kimble at wideout. They have a few weapons defensively that will need to over perform as star players usually do in playoff scenarios. Seniors like Chavarius Garrett and Jaylon Blakely have to wreak havoc on Ty Davis and get pressure on him, while Brykavion Smith and that secondary hold down the back end. The combination of explosive offense with being precise and getting take-aways on defense will prove to be vital in assuring the Warriors in get the win. In the end, this second round game against the unbeaten Indians of Itawamba AHS will quite literally make or break the season for Senatobia and their title hopes.   Itawamba AHS: #7 Ty Davis 2023 QB | #2 Issac Smith 2023 ATH | #1 Zion Ashby 2023 | #53 [player_tooltip player_id='277010' first='Isaiah' last='Autry'] 2024 OT | #11 [player_tooltip player_id='379881' first='Bryson' last='Walters'] 2025 LB | #9 Aaron Shook 2023 LB   Senatobia: #2 [player_tooltip player_id='340746' first='JaBrysten' last='Abram'] 2023 WR | #57 Chavarius Garrett 2023 DL/OL | #3 Jay Bonner 2025 QB/OLB | #7 Brykavion Smith 2023 CB | #1 Khalil Kimble 2023 WR | #9 Jaylon Blakely 2023 LB     Mendenhall, Columbia, You're Up. Round 2... Fight!   Mendenhall (10-1) vs Columbia (9-2)   Here we are again in the thick of things in 4A South. Mendenhall and Columbia are set to do battle for the second time this season. This time around there are major implications involved being that we are in the second round of this years playoffs. The first time that these two teams faced each other, Columbia pulled of early on to secure a 21-0 lead at the half. Mendenhall got off to a slow start beginning the of the game as well as the start to the second half. The tigers ended up coming back and scoring 14 points in the 4th to make it 21-16, adding to the safety they earned in the 3rd quarter. In their Week 1 meeting of the season, both of these teams were revered as two of the top teams in 4A. After battling it out against one another to kick off the regular season, They both have lived up to the hype all season long. Columbia is a team that simply knows how to win and get the job done. The defending 4A champions are surely looking to repeat, but Mendenhall is seeking a revengeful win in the match up between the two that really matters. This game will be a different story as far as how its played out. I see it ending with a similar outcome as far as scoring goes. Who wins it? We shall see.   Mendenhall is a different team now than who they were the first game of the season. Different how? They've gotten better as the season has went on and battled through adversity and attrition. Since falling to Columbia early on, the Mendenhall Tigers have rattled of 10 straight wins by a point differential of 328 points to their opponents 58 points. They were able to attain this level of dominance while playing a fairly tough non-conference schedule. Players like Chance Barron and Tyree "Sarge" Bridges are a part of that defense that is putting up gaudy numbers. These are just a few of the players from Mendenhall's stable that is full of nothing but studs. The amount of talent that both of these teams both have is absurd. I can speak personally because I've Mendenhall first hand, and I have watched them both on film. I've also I have pleasure of covering a few of Mendenhall's guys throughout the offseason and through this year. This game will feature, at least, about 12-15 prospective collegiate athletes combined from both of these teams. If you don't have any plans this Friday it is a game that you don't want to miss.   Mendenhall – [player_tooltip player_id='119162' first='Chancellor' last='Barron']<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/chancellor-barron/"></a> #7 S/RB | #2 Tyler Bridges 2023 RB/CB | Tyree Bridges #3 OLB | Jeffrey Hobbs#9 OLB/SS | Alonzo Newsome #15 WR/FS | #58 [player_tooltip player_id='108900' first='Jamar' last='Winn'] 2023 OL/DL | #32 Davin Chung 2024 LB | #8 Nicholas Williams WR/DB |   Columbia – #7 Jeremiah Foxworth 2024 DB | #20 DJ Cloyd 2023 WR | #8 [player_tooltip player_id='346332' first='Amarion' last='Fortenberry'] 2024 ATH | #5 Miguel Cook 2023 RB | #12 Kendale Johnson 2023 WR

We are rounding out the regular season and moving into the heat of 2022 playoff football action as of now in Mississippi. There are a few brackets with match-ups between opponents that could shape the way champions are crowned in each class. From 4A, I will highlight which games stand out to me as potential games that will decide the fate of the entire playoff bracket. Games selected are expected to be all out brawls in the North or South half, depending on the match-up's classification and region. I choose these games based on both teams' overall records, prospects' talent levels, and probability of the two teams involved advancing on to win a title.