At the beginning of every year when football schedules are first released, players, coaches and fans alike circle games on the docket, primarily for games they feel their team should win or marquee matchups.

The latter can be applied to this week’s game for Meridian High School, as it faces a stern challenge Friday when it travels to South Panola High School for a showdown between two teams ranked in the top-5 of the latest Class 6A rankings.

After demolishing Northwest Rankin High School and Quitman High School by a combined 66-12, Meridian (2-0) will face its biggest challenge of the young season.

Yet Meridian coach Larry Weems said the matchup is of the utmost importance simply because it is the next game.

“You just go from week-to-week and try to improve as best you can in that week,” the coach said. “It’s not any more important than the game last week or the game that will follow.”

South Panola (2-0) is currently ranked second in the 6A poll, while the Wildcats (2-0) check in at No. 4.

“(South Panola) is a very good team,” Weems said. “They have outstanding players and coaches. The top teams in our region are the same caliber of teams (as South Panola). So this game helps prepare us for district play.

“We have to execute for the whole four quarters to have a chance to win. We have to play better. If you want to play with high caliber teams, then you have to do things right on a consistent basis.”

The Wildcats’ defense, particularly the defensive line, demonstrated a strong performance in their win over Quitman last week. Weems stated Meridian will need a similar performance Friday, along with a better overall performance from the rest of his squad.

“I think everybody has got to play a lot better,” Weems said. “If we don’t, then we’re not going to have a chance to win. Everybody has got to be together on the same page.

“We still need to execute better. We didn’t execute very well (against Quitman). The score was not indicative of the mistakes that we made.”

Knights eager to get back on field

COLLINSVILLE — The West Lauderdale High School football team is attempting to rebound following a disappointing 13-12 loss to Northeast Lauderdale High School last week.

The Knights (1-1) were in position to claim a win the Lauderdale County showdown, but failed to convert a 36-yard field goal attempt as time expired.

However, coach Stan McCain said the contest didn’t come down to one play, instead the West Lauderdale head man stated he can point to a number of areas where the Knights failed to execute, ultimately leading to the loss.

“We had too many penalties and too many turnovers,” he said. “We had 15 penalties and three turnovers. Those really hindered us in what we were trying to do. Sometimes things don’t go your way and usually your (mistakes) have a lot to do with it.”

Despite the heartbreaking defeat, McCain said his squad has moved forward and now has set its sights to Friday’s matchup against Wesson High School, and the rest of the 2014 campaign.

“We’ve put last week to rest,” McCain said. “The guys are focused on the rest of the season, and we have a lot more games left to play.”

While the Knights are coming off a one-point loss, Wesson (1-1) is riding high after topping Sumrall High School, 27-26, last week.

“(Wesson) has got three really good offensive players,” McCain said. “They have a receiver (Farrod Green) who is a Mississippi State commitment, so they really have some skilled athletes. We beat them last year (27-0), but we were in a fight for the entire game.”

McCain said Friday’s success ultimately comes down to how well the Knights protect the football.

“I’ll always tell you it will be about turnovers,” McCain said. “If you don’t turn the ball over and the other team does, then you have a good chance of beating them. I think that’s the biggest deciding factor in winning and losing.”