CLARKDALE:

Week 10: Defeated Newton 66-57

Round 1: @ Amite County

Record: 4-6 (2-2 Region 5-2A)

LAMAR:

Round 1: Defeated Magnolia Heights 35-20

Round 2: @ Copiah Academy

Record: 8-3 (2-2 District 2-5A)

MERIDIAN:

Week 10: Lost to Brandon 41-35

Week 11: vs Pearl

Record: 5-5 (2-2 Region 3-7A)

NORTHEAST LAUDERDALE:

Week 10: Defeated Choctaw Central 44-7

Round 1: @ New Albany

Record: 5-5 (2-2 Region 4-4A)

RUSSELL CHRISTIAN:

Round 1: Defeated Cornerstone Christian 48-14

Round 2: @ Tuscaloosa Christian

Record: 5-4 (4-2 CFA 8-Man)

SOUTHEAST LAUDERDALE:

Week 10: Lost to Kemper County 52-12

Round 1: @ Jefferson County

Record: 2-8 (1-3 Region 5-3A)

WEST LAUDERDALE:

Week 10: Defeated Newton County 24-7

Round 1: vs South Pontotoc

Record: 9-1 (4-0 Region 4-4A)

Top 10 Performers:

Ladonya Adams — Clarkdale: 255 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries

Malachi Atterberry — Meridian: nine total tackles, one interception and one pass defensed

Sean Auzenne — Lamar: 12 yards on two receptions; 65 yards on two punt returns, including one returned 55-yards for a touchdown

Wyatt Bond — Lamar: 240 yards and two touchdowns on 15 completions out of 22 attempts; 13 yards on one carry; 55 yards on one punt

Aiden Burns — Russell Christian: 125 passing yards and two passing touchdowns; 110 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns

Daniel Hill — Meridian: 75 yards and one touchdown on two completions out of nine attempts; 87 yards and two touchdowns on 28 attempts; 33 yards and one touchdown on two receptions

Jase Jimison — Southeast Lauderdale: 141 yards, one touchdown and one 2-point conversion on nine completions out of 12 attempts; 162 yards, three touchdowns and one 2-point conversion on 13 carries

Kellen Kerley — Lamar: 61 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries; 13 yards on one kickoff return

Decker McKenzie — Russell Christian: 10 total tackles, three sacks and four tackles for loss

Thelonious Mcphee — Meridian: 11 total tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery

Postgame Q&A:

Brock Clay — West Lauderdale coach

Q: How did your defense perform in giving up just one score to Newton County?

A: “They’ve played very well in the last two weeks, that’s something I’m very proud of, and the way that those kids have responded the last couple weeks. We’ve tried to explain that it’s about making the play and not necessarily about the big play, but make sure we make the simple play. Very proud of the way that they responded. They definitely kept us in it in the first half. Lots of turnovers going back and forth there, and just proud of everybody tonight. Great night to be a Knight.”

Q: How is the Knights’ execution in the run game as your team enters the playoffs?

A: “I hope we’re getting better. I think we are. That’s a great football team over there. Their record is not fair to the team they are. They’re going to get a W next week in the first round of the playoffs. Anything can happen after that. I think they’re definitely our toughest foe since Neshoba Central or Germantown, and we knew it was going to be that way coming in, so great ball club with a lot of future in front of them.”

Q: How is Kayden Peoples adjusting to the quarterback position in his first year with the team?

A: “K.P. has done a really good job. He’s still learning, and he’s getting better every day, and that’s the biggest thing. We’re proud of what he’s been able to accomplish, and hopefully the sky is still the limit.”

Q: Your tight end and offensive line groups are key to this team’s success, but your team is not particularly large up front on offense this season. How have those groups played so far this year?

A: “They’ve played extremely well. We knew we weren’t going to be the biggest team this year, so they’re fighting their tails off, and they’re getting after it and doing a great job with that.”

Q: What is it going to take to make a playoff run this season?

A: “Just getting better every week. I think we’re doing that so far. We’ve got to limit our mistakes, and we’ve done a pretty good job of that so far. It’s play each play, kind of like what we do here, what we try to do is play each play, and play each drive, and play each quarter, so that’s all we’re going to try to do.”

Kayden Peoples — West Lauderdale QB

Q: How do you like playing quarterback so far?

A: “I’m loving it. It’s not anything like any other sport. Every Friday night, and working your tail off all week to play, it’s amazing. It’s a great atmosphere.”

Q: How have your offensive line performed this season?

A: “They’ve been doing great. I think I’ve been sacked a few times, not many, so they’ve been doing a really great job?

Q: How did your defense perform in giving up just one score?

A: “Their true selves came out tonight, and they did their thing.”

Q: What is it going to take to make a run in the playoffs?

A: “Limit the mistakes on both sides and just keep working our tails off every day.”

Jacob Land — Lamar coach

Q: What was Magnolia’s offense doing in the first half that gave your team some trouble early?

A: “The quarterback for sure. The quarterback’s just a tremendous athlete. He’s just a sophomore. He’s actually committed to Ole Miss to play baseball. Magnolia Heights’ baseball program is probably one of the top two or three in the Southeast, definitely in the state. But, he’s a baseball player, a sophomore kid, and he’s just a tremendous athlete. Their offensive scheme causes a lot of problems because they’re a big RPO (run pass option) team, and then they have a quarterback that can run around, so that’s tough to handle. I thought also we got to the 14-point lead and took the foot off the gas a little bit and kind of eased up, but when we focused back in, we did a good job. I’ve been saying it all week — our defense practiced really well, so I was confident coming into this game.”

Q: Success in the playoffs tends to come down to health. How healthy is your team entering the second round?

A: “We have a couple of guys injured. Obviously Jaeden Jones, who is our stud on offense, he tore up his knee a couple of weeks ago, so that hurts, but you saw tonight Kellen Kerley and freshman Ashton Jones really carried the football really, really well. We’ve got some other kids that are a little banged up, but really, for the most part, we’re about as healthy as we’ve been in the last month.”

Q: How do you feel about the rematch with Copiah in the second round?

A: “It’s going to be really, really tough. They probably have one of the more talented teams in our association. We beat them here about a month ago 14-7, and it was just a brawl. It was a fist fight, so we’re going to have to get ready, continue to get healthier, and we’ve got to go to Gallman, which we really haven’t performed that well on the road this year. But, this team has been through a lot of adversity, a lot of ups and downs. We were kind of in the hole about two or three weeks ago, and they keep climbing out of it, so I’m excited about the opportunity to get to coach them one more week.”

Q: What does your team need to improve on in practice this week?

A: “Offensively, in the run game, we just need to refine some of our steps, coming off the ball a bit lower, the normal coach talk. Defensively, just getting a little more confident, because a lot of those guys, in the secondary for sure, they have been hurt, and they’ve missed games, so they’re kind of working themselves back into playing shape and actually game shape, and getting that confidence in the game too, so just more reps and getting a little bit healthier. Again, I’m really excited we get to play another week.”

Tripp Morrow — Lamar WR/DB

Q: Why did Magnolia’s dual-threat quarterback do that gave your defense some trouble?

A: “We knew he was going to come out running, but I don’t think we expected them to come out leading with the blockers they did. But, we were able to adjust to it, especially at halftime and even a little bit before that, and shut that down in the second half.”

Q: Can you walk me through your early interception?

A: “I saw the guy cut in, and we knew that whenever he sticks his foot in going left, he’s going to cut back right on the corner. I tried to shadow over the top, and the quarterback was throwing across his body, so I knew it was either going to be high or behind him. I was playing over the top and broke on it when it was behind it, and after that I just caught it.”

Q: How have you and quarterback Wyatt Bond developed such a strong connection on the field?

A: “It started last year really when I was playing slot, and we really gained trust this summer in 7-on-7s and really got timing down, that was the biggest thing. It’s really helped us this season, especially with the deep balls.”

Q: How do you feel about the rematch with Copiah Academy in the second round?

A: “Can’t wait. It’s going to be fun. I know Drew Mitchell is waiting to get some revenge.”