Tonight's game marks the fifth time in the last six years Meridian High and Oak Grove have met twice in the same season. Oak Grove leads the overall series, 6-5.
2007: MHS 42, OG 28*
2006: MHS 27, OG 20(SS)
2006: OG 27, MHS 7*
2005: MHS 46, OG 40 (SS)
2005: OG 41, MHS 30*
2004: OG 36, MHS 35 (P)
2004: MHS 35, OG 21*
2003: OG 31, MHS 16 (P)
2003: OG 28, MHS 21*
(*) denotes regular season (SS) denotes South State title game (P) denotes playoff game
Meridian High School football fans were awful proud to see the performance of the team's defensive unit in last week's 27-3 playoff win at Hattiesburg.
In fact, the Wildcats and their fans alike may be talking about some of the licks passed for years to come.
But if Meridian is to make its third Class 5A state championship appearance in the last four years, head coach Larry Weems says the Cats will have to correct the offensive mistakes it made a week ago.
"You saw us drop passes, throw the ball late, run the wrong route ... mistakes we haven't been making," Weems said following last week's win at Hattiesburg. "And those are mistakes we can't make if we're going to win another ball game."
That next ball game is tonight, when Meridian renews its rivalry with Oak Grove — with the Class 5A South State championship on the line. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Ray Stadium, and advance tickets are available at MHS from noon until 3 p.m. today.
It's the fifth time in the last six years Meridian and Oak Grove have met both during the regular season and the playoffs; and the third time in the last four years the Region 3-5A rivals have tangled for the South State crown.
No. 2 ranked MHS is 12-1 overall and riding a 10-game winning streak, while Oak Grove is 12-1 and has won six in a row since a 42-28 loss to the Wildcats here on Oct. 10.
Only once during the rivalry has the team which won the regular-season matchup repeated the feat during the playoffs: In 2003, Oak Grove won both times on its way to a state-runnerup finish.
But all of that is irrelevant to Weems, who is more concerned about his own team's execution than its history.
"They've got a lot of talented guys and we've got a lot of talented guys," Weems said. "We've got to put our guys in the right place and they've got to make plays."
While Weems said his team "just wasn't sharp" last week, the Cats still managed 322 yards of offense and 19 first downs. On the year, MHS averages 408 yards and 20.2 first downs per outing.
It starts with all-state quarterback Tyler Russell, a Mississippi State commitment who has thrown for 2,921 yards and 37 touchdowns this season despite sitting out a total of 14 quarters during blowout wins.
A Mississippi/Alabama All-Star Classic selection, Russell has completed 178-of-258 passes (69 percent) and has thrown just five interceptions.
Fellow MSU commit Chris Smith has 61 catches for 960 yards and nine touchdowns, while speedy Marcus McQuarley has 39 catches for 934 yards and 19 touchdowns.
J.J. Harbin has 39 catches for 585 yards, Dallas Hannah has 18 catches for 233 yards and Hamp Glover has 16 catches for 129 yards. That trio has combimed for seven more receiving TDs.
On the ground, Quardarel Martin leads the Wildcats with 792 yards and 12 touchdowns, while Russell has rushed for 313 yards and eight scores. James Barnett adds six rushing TDs for the Cats.
Oak Grove, meanwhile, features just as many weapons and has arguably the state's top junior class.
The biggest names are both transfers, and they're both good ones: Steve McNair, Jr., and Jay Hughes. McNair is the son of the now-retired former National Football League MVP who transferred from Mt. Olive, while Hughes — the son of Southern Miss assistant coach Tony Hughes — moved from Oxford.
Hughes is over the 1,000-yard rushing mark on the year and has a four-touchdown game to his credit, while McNair is coming off a 191-yard receiving night in Oak Grove's 35-15 playoff win at Natchez last week.
Quarterback James McMahon, another junior, is turning heads, as well. McMahon threw for 395 yards — 274 in the first half — and three touchdowns and also ran for two TDs last week. He also ran for three touchdowns in the first meeting with Meridian, and he accounted for 342 yards and three TDs in a playoff win over Harrison Central two weeks ago.
Junior wideout Robert Johnson is on the recruiting radar of several big-name schools already, while senior Tobias Irby led the squad in receiving a year ago. Irby had five catches for 147 yards in the win over Harrison Central.
Raphael Peters has also emerged as a big target for Oak Grove in recent weeks, while Jonathan Duncan rounds out a receiving corps which had the Warriors up 28-0 just 15 minutes into last week's game.
"We were really clicking in the first half," Oak Grove coach Nevil Barr said. "We threw well, caught well and blocked well."
The Meridian defense which will try to slow down the Warriors again is led by linebacker Michael Pack, who has 119 total tackles, four pass deflections and two interceptions.
Jacoby Eason has 87 tackles and leads Meridian with nine tackles for a loss and 11 sacks. He also has three fumble recoveries, while Keith Austin has 82 tackles and six sacks.
Rashaad Houston and Lauren Jackson have 70 tackles apiece, with Jackson making eight for a loss. Khairi Usher has 68 tackles and a team-high four interceptions while Kevin Roberts has 62 tackles.
Oak Grove's big guns on defense who will be trying to get revenge for the Warriors include senior linebacker Jordan Blankenship, senior DB Ricky Bradley, senior D-lineman Ryan McSwain and junior D-lineman Vince Taylor.
Tonight's winner takes on either No. 1 South Panola or Madison Central for the 5A state crown next week in Jackson.
