By Jamie Wachter / executive sports editor
They meet again.
For the sixth time in the past seven seasons, Meridian and Oak Grove will cross paths in the state playoffs tonight at Warrior Field.
After Meridian has won the past three playoff meetings — all in the South State championship game — the Wildcats and Warriors square off now in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.
"That's a pretty common occurrence," Meridian coach Larry Weems said. "It's happened most years that I've been around here, and even before I got here. Both teams have played well and both teams have made the postseason appearances, and sooner or later you meet up with each other."
In getting to the rematch, the Wildcats (11-1) overcame their lone loss of the season, a 28-21 setback against Oak Grove (9-2), to win five straight, including a 35-24 win against George County last week to open the playoffs.
Meridian trailed most of the way against the Rebels, not grabbing its first lead until the final three minutes when Jordan Lenton caught a 59-yard touchdown pass from Antoinne Adkins on a fourth-and-7.
"If you don't block and tackle, you've got a slim chance of winning," Weems said about the playoff-opening win. "I didn't think we tackled very well. I didn't think we did a lot of things very well. I really think we got out-hit most of the night, to be honest with you. And I think that makes it hard to win. We got fortunate, made a play or two down the stretch and got us into this week.
"We've certainly got to do better on that if we want to go on to next week."
The Wildcats will need to do that starting tonight, as Oak Grove enters on a three-game winning streak. The Warriors opened the postseason with a 56-36 drilling of Harrison Central, during which they opened up a 49-16 lead at the half.
Oak Grove's offense is ran by senior quarterback James McMahon. Despite missing three games early in the season, McMahon has completed 60 percent of his passes (124-of-206) for 1,689 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was at his best last week, completing 10-of-19 for 322 yards and four touchdowns — in the first half.
McMahon, though, is far from alone on Oak Grove's offense. The Warriors feature four wide receivers with at least 20 catches in Jonathan Duncan (48 for 677 yards), Steve McNair Jr. (45-528), Robert Johnson (25-500) and Dillon Fedora (21-240). Oak Grove also possesses senior running back Jay Hughes, who has churned out 780 yards on 131 carries.
"It's always tough to stop skilled players and they've got a lot of them," Weems said. "That's a challenge for anybody.
"If you've got those guys, it's good. If you don't have them guys, it's not good. We've got some guys, though, that are pretty good. I think if we do our job and do what we're asked to do and get in the right position, and be smart about field position and down-and-distance, and be alert to the formations and personnel groupings they have, I think we'll be fine."
Meridian's offense has its weapons, too, starting with Adkins. The junior, who missed the first meeting against Oak Grove with an injured non-throwing hand, led Meridian past George County last week with 272 passing yards. Adkins has thrown for more than 1,000 yards despite missing three games.
Running back Kenya Roberts has also proven to be dangerous late in the year. After senior Jamie Barnett suffered an injury in the middle of the season, Roberts has stepped up, rushing for 471 yards in the past six games for the Wildcats.
"Anytime you've got Antoinne Adkins with the ball in his hands every time, you've got to feel good about anybody," Weems said. "Kenya's running the ball well and we've got some other guys capable of making plays if you get the ball in their hands. If we're coming off the ball up-front and putting a hat on hat, I feel like we can move the ball on anybody.
"That's just the plan you've got to have."
