Lamar, Simpson County Academy square off for MAIS District 4-AA title

Sports

Discussion

October 24, 2012

Lamar, Simpson County Academy square off for MAIS District 4-AA title

By Tony Tsoukalas / Sports Writer The Meridian Star The Meridian Star Wed Oct 24, 2012, 10:46 PM CDT

MERIDIAN — You won't see any signs or banners hanging on the Lamar campus hyping up Friday's meeting against Simpson County Academy. However, that does not mean the game does not carry high ramifications. The match up between the Raiders and Cougars will determine first place in the MAIS District-4AA standings and will give the winner home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

    Looking ahead into the playoffs, a win would provide even more than a chance to play at home. It would also most likely avoid a first-round pairing with undefeated Centerville Academy, as second place in District-4AA will travel to the winner of District-6AA. With so much on the line, it would appear the game against the Cougars would be a must-win for Lamar.

    Just don't tell head coach Mac Barnes, the Lamar coach is adamant on treating this game just like any other.

    “You are going to have to beat Centerville and Brookhaven sooner or later,” Barnes said. “We don't know how good Simpson is, and they don't know how good we are. We probably played them better than anybody did last year, so we respect them, but our kids certainly aren't in awe of them. I don't think you would find a player on our team that doesn't think we are going to go down there and win. We are just going to focus on this game.”

    The Raiders will need that confidence as they travel to Simpson County to take on a well-coached Cougar team, playing with a swagger of its own.

    “They have this mentality that they are better than the team they are playing,” Barnes said. “You really have to defeat that every time you line up against them. You aren't going to catch them off guard.”

    The Raiders will look to hit Simpson County in the mouth early in order to avoid giving the Cougars any momentum to build on. Last season, the Raiders got out to a 14-0 lead at the half, only to see it erased in the third and fourth quarters, as Lamar fell 28-14. Barnes said his team will need a complete game this time out if they want to come away with a win.

    “You have to play hard, and play hard and keep on going,” Barnes said. “At some point they realize you are not going to quit, and it will start to neutralize itself. But, if you let them get the lead early, they are going to take it from you.”

    This Simpson County team is different from teams in the past in that the Cougars have opened up their offense more from their typical ground-and-pound approach. Though the new formations require more preparations, it is still a slight relief for teams this season, as the Cougars once offered one of the most deadly running games in the league.

    “You know they are still going to be good at running it,” Barnes said. “When they added the pass this year, you have to get ready for it. But, I think we would rather go up against them this year than when they used to line up and run the ball 35-40 times a night .”

    With a playoff birth already locked up no matter what the outcome, Barnes said he hopes his players can just execute to their abilities and treat the match up just like any other.

    “I can tell you what, we haven't done anything different this week,” Barnes said. “We are just going to play as hard as we can and focus on what we can do. We are just going to go out and play our game.”

Text Only

Sports

(PHOTOS) Newton County Class 4A State Championship Finals Slideshow from game three of Newton County in the Class 4A State Championship against Lewisburg.
May 25, 2013
Title Fever
For the Newton County Cougars, their final game of the season couldn’t be bigger: state title or bust.
They forced a Game 3 in the Class 4A championship series with a 2-1 win over Lewisburg in 10 innings on Thursday night at Trustmark Park.

May 25, 2013 1 Photo
Saints' Rob Ryan Ready for defensive challenges
May 24, 2013
Sanchez flirts with no-hitter in win
May 24, 2013
East Central names Mays offensive coordinator
Mickey Mays was recently named offensive coordinator at East Central Community College in Decatur, announced head football coach Ken Karcher.
Mays is a former assistant to Coach Karcher, having served on his Liberty University staff as defensive line coach and special teams coordinator.

May 24, 2013
(PHOTOS) Newton County Class 4A State Championship Slideshow from games one and two of the MHSAA Class 4A State Championship.
May 24, 2013
Not done yet
After being shutout less than 24 hours earlier, the Newton County Cougars used a 10-inning affair to force a Game 3 in the Class 4A championship series, topping Lewisburg, 2-1, in Game 2 at Trustmark Park.

May 23, 2013 1 Photo
Hollins focused on Spurs, not his contract
Lionel Hollins has been more successful than any Grizzlies coach and will be a free agent after June 30.
He has the Grizzlies in the Western Conference finals for the first time and has won more games with this team than any other coach.

May 23, 2013
Slive focused on future after big changes
Mike Slive sprawls in a comfy arm chair, propping his feet on a coffee table between one massive tome on Winston Churchill and an even thicker "Encyclopedia of Southern Culture."
He's relaxed and feeling awfully good about the state of the Southeastern Conference.
It's a rare moment of calm for the SEC's cerebral commissioner, but he can afford it since his "A pile" of things to do has gotten considerably slimmer over the past two years.

May 23, 2013
’Bama bounces Ole Miss from SEC Tourney
For the second day in a row, the Rebels went into extra-innings but were unable to emerge with the victory as No. 21 Ole Miss (37-22) fell to Alabama (34-25) 7-5 in 10 innings at the SEC Tournament on Thursday.
With the loss, the Rebels were eliminated from the SEC Tournament and will now await NCAA Tournament selection announcements at 11 a.m. on Monday. The selection of the NCAA Tournament field will be televised by ESPNU.
Tanner Bailey (4-2) suffered the loss for the Rebels, allowing two runs on one hit with two walks in 2.1 innings of work.

May 23, 2013
More Sports Headlines

Sports

Search Results

Discussion

Lamar, Simpson County Academy square off for MAIS District 4-AA title

Site Map

Contact Us