MERIDIAN —     After rolling over Canton High School 41-6 last week en route to being named the No.1 team in the state by the MPB Top 25, the AP state poll and The Jackson Clarion-Ledger Super 10, you would think head coach Larry Weems and the Meridian Wildcats would be pretty confident heading into Friday's game against the Class 4A Quitman Panthers.

    After walloping the Panthers 35-7 last year, who would blame the No. 1-rated 'Cats? Meridian has a lot of reasons to be comfortable heading into its game against Quitman, however, Weems is having none of it.

    “They are a good team,” Weems said of 3-0 Quitman, which is ranked No. 24 in the state overall in the MPB rankings and No. 4 in its class by the AP. “They are one of the better 4A teams in the state, and I think they will be a major factor in that 4A race. It is a little bit of a rivalry because we both live close by, and that always adds a little motivation for everybody. In the history of schools, the small school always wants the chance to beat the bigger school at every level you go to.”

    Weems knows Friday's match-up will be will be much more than a match-up between a 6A and and a 4A school. The head coach said if his team is not focused they could find themselves in trouble Friday night against the Panthers.

    “I don't know if we have been focused yet,” Weems said. “I don't think we have played anywhere close to what we can. We have made a ton of mistakes, we have given up way to many penalties, we are just doing things that will make it tough to win close ball games if we don't clean it up.”

    A lot of the on-field errors Weems pointed out may come from a young defense that only returns two starters. The head coached emphasized the importance of all 11 men on the field doing their job and how one mistake can ruin a play.

    “We have a lot of guys on the field that do not have a ton of playing experience,” Weems said. “It doesn't take a whole lot of things here or there to mess up. That's just part of it. That's part of taking kids that haven't played and putting them in a situation where they can handle it.”

    One of the two returning starters on defense, defensive back C.J. Hampton said he aims to provide leadership to some of the younger players this season and bring some of Weems' coaching out onto the field.

    “I see myself as a leader,” the Ole Miss commit said. “Whenever something to my defense, I look at it as if it were my problem. I try to teach all the young guys and mostly ninth graders the moves I learned over the summer and just teaching everybody how to work right now.”

    Despite the occasional miscues Meridian has still only opponents to average 11 points per game this season. Still, Weems wants to keep his players humble and reminds his team there is still room for improvement.

    “If you do what you are assigned to do, they shouldn't ever score.” Weems said. “It's the same thing on offense if we block and do what we are supposed to do, it should be a big play every time. That's just the expectation you got to have. I'm not going to be pleased it is 10 points a game if I feel we didn't play as good as we needed to play.”

    That said, the Wildcats have hit some big plays offensively where sophomore quarterback J-Mar Smith has completed 37 of 56 passes for 400 yards and three touchdowns.  He also has rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. MHS has churned out 754 yards rushing as a team as Richard L. McQuarley leads the way with 296 yards and four touchdowns and Austin Holt has added 217 yards and a score. Issac Johnson is the top receiving threat with 11 catches for 134 yards and three TDs.

    Just because Weems and the Wildcats will not sleep on the game against Quitman does not mean he will over hype the highly-anticipated match up either. While fans from both teams are sure to provide an exciting atmosphere Friday night at the Ray Stadium, to Weems the game is just another step towards the ultimate goal of making the playoffs and advancing to state.

    “To us it is just the next game,” Weems said. “When this is over with Natchez will be the next game. That is just the way we look at it.”