Two of the state’s best high school football teams will clash tonight at Ray Stadium. The Wayne County War Eagles will travel north from Waynesboro to battle the homestanding Wildcats of Meridian High.

Kickoff for the non-region battle is set for 7:30 p.m.

Both coaches were on the same page as both were far from pleased in their teams’ season-opening wins last Friday night. Meridian coach Larry Weems was happy with his team’s 13-5 win against West Lauderdale, but knows that his team will have to improve in several areas.

“We found a way to get it done in the end, but we made it hard on ourselves with our poor execution in several areas,” stated Weems.

Gone are nine offensive starters from a year ago for the Wildcats, including Mr. Football, Tyler Russell, and a senior quintet of receivers. The offense that was almost unstoppable at times last season in helping MHS claim the State 5A championship and snap South Panola’s 89-game winning streak is having to reload.

“We have tried to simplify the offense this week. We lack experience on that side of the ball, and we just got back to basics,” stated Weems.

The Wildcats return only center Tyler Stanley and guard Rico Cole. A couple of juniors, Luke Stanley and Antoine Atkins, are trying to settle in at quarterback and will both have to break in a whole new receiving crop. A stable of running backs that includes Kenya Roberts, Jamie Barnett, Michael Hubbard and Jacoby Eason will help ease the transition from last year’s wide open air attack.

“There’s no substitute for experience, and that only that comes with time.” added Weems.

The Wildcats’ defense lost six starters from a year ago, but they played well against West Lauderdale. Eason, who is considered the Cats’ best athlete, starts on the defensive line along with playing in the offensive backfield. Lauren Jackson and Jeffery Jones join Eason on the line, while Desmond Edwards returns at linebacker.

War Eagle head coach Marcus Boyles (185-22), who is in his ninth year at the helm of the Wayne County school, was also disappointed in his team’s sloppy execution on offense even though his team claimed a 26-0 win against the Laurel Tornadoes.

“We had the ball three times in the scoring zone and came away with no points,” Boyles said. “We could blame the weather and field conditions, but in the end it was poor execution and just sloppy offensive play.”

Wayne County had nine fumbles (five bad snaps) in the contest that was played on Sim Cooley Field at Jones County Junior College.

Wayne County’s defense shined as they held Laurel to only 59 yards of offense and forced three turnovers. Nate Cran led the defense with a dozen tackles while the steady veteran Marion Chapman (10), Alvin Smith (9), and Jerrell Gandy (8) dominated the Tornadoes’ offense. Gandy recovered a fumble while Smith and Jaquarius Leverett had interceptions for WC.

Wayne’s offense ran 60 plays as they ran for 158 yards and passed for 162 yards. Senior signal-caller Demarcus Henderson was 13-of-19 passes for 156 yards and two scores. Henderson is a Mississippi State baseball commitment and is expected to sign in November with the Bulldogs.

Henderson hit Malik Lofton on three passes for 78 yards including a 25-yard scoring toss. Also, Dewayne Davis grabbed an eight- yard TD pass for the Eagles. Backup quarterback Julius McQueen was the winner’s leading rusher with 56 yards on three totes while Davis carried a dozen rushes for 41 yards.

Weems (84-52) says when you play Wayne County you are playing one of the state’s best.

“They are one of the best programs in all Mississippi. When you play those guys, you know they have good players and are well coached and that is a tough combination. They are impressive again in that they have some experience skill players that return.

“It is our home opener, and I know Wayne County travels well, so if the weather permits we should have a good crowd for the game,” stated Weems.

“The Meridian game is always a physical contest for us, so we will have to be ready,” added Boyles.

Last year Wayne gave Meridian their only loss, a 41-13 defeat in Waynesboro.