Russell Christian’s Matt Woodall (11) eyes down a defender while picking up yardage for the Warriors at Friday night’s home football game against Jacksonville Christian Academy.

How They Stand:

CLARKDALE:

Week 5: Defeated Southeast Lauderdale 35-6

Week 6: vs Lake

Record: 2-3 (0-0 Region 5-2A)

LAMAR:

Week 7: Defeated Heritage Academy 35-17

Week 8: vs Copiah Academy

Record: 5-1 (0-0 District 2-5A)

MERIDIAN:

Week 5: Defeated Callaway 32-6

Week 6: @ Harrison Central

Record: 2-3 (0-0 Region 3-7A)

NORTHEAST LAUDERDALE:

Week 5: Lost to Kemper County 38-21

Week 6: @ Newton County

Record: 3-2 (0-0 Region 4-4A)

RUSSELL CHRISTIAN:

Week 6: Lost to Jacksonville Christian 37-6

Week 7: vs Tabernacle

Record: 2-3 (2-2 CFA 8-Man)

SOUTHEAST LAUDERDALE:

Week 5: Lost to Clarkdale 35-6

Week 6: vs Enterprise

Record: 1-4 (0-0 Region 5-3A)

WEST LAUDERDALE:

Week 5: Defeated Philadelphia 40-26

Week 6: @ Leake Central

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

Top 10 Performers:

Wyatt Bond, Lamar: 213 passing yards and four touchdowns on 17 completions out of 22 attempts; 14 yards on five carries; 36 yards on one punt

Anthony Brown, Meridian: 83 yards and a touchdown on 10 attempts

Isaiah Brown, Clarkdale: 139 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries

Caleb Collins, West Lauderdale: 114 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries

Caleb Fowler, Southeast Lauderdale: returned an interception at midfield for a touchdown

Daniel Hill, Meridian: 15 passing yards on one completion out of three attempts; 162 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries

Jaeden Jones, Lamar: 134 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries; 81 yards on eight receptions; 15 yards on one punt return

Tripp Morrow, Lamar: 27 yards and two touchdowns on four catches; 41 yards on two kickoff returns; made five extra points on five attempts; 265 yards on six kickoffs

Carson Smith, West Lauderdale: three sacks

Eli Swearingen, Clarkdale: 170 yards and one touchdown on eight carries

Postgame Q&A:

Brian Ford – Southeast Lauderdale coach

Q: How do you think your run defense held up against a strong Clarkdale rushing attack?

A: “They countered us pretty good, and when you’ve got linemen that are getting up on safeties and blocking your safeties, they’re doing a pretty good job, and we’re not playing effective defense. We’ve got to get off blocks better, we’ve got to be a little more aggressive, but we’re going to improve this week.”

Q: Why do you think yall were able to run the ball better in the second half?

A: “We made some adjustments at halftime and made sure we’re blocking the right people, and just talked about trying to use good angles and coming off the ball hard, anticipating the snap, and we were a little more effective in the second half.”

Q: How can your team unlock this passing game for when you need to make plays through the air?

A: “We’re having to evolve a little bit after a quarterback change, and Kohl (Ethridge) is not doing bad. He’s getting better every game. I thought he threw the ball really well tonight. We’ve got to help him out a little bit in some areas, but I think we’re going to be able to having an effective passing game, and we just have to keep working on those things.”

Bubba Brannan – Clarkdale coach

Q: How do you think quarterback Luke Williams has played so far this season?

A: “He’s played well. He’s a junior. He hadn’t played in a few years, so he’s still learning some stuff, and he’s still making mistakes, but even as good as (Cal) Culpepper was, he made some mistakes too, so he’s doing what we ask him to. He’s doing a good job.”

Q: You had multiple players put up big yardage and scores on the ground. How important is it to your offense to have multiple guys that can run the football effectively?

A: “I think that makes it tougher on defenses if they can’t just isolate or try to stop one guy, so we were like that last year, and our offense does that. It spreads the ball around evenly.”

Q: How do you think your defense has played the last two weeks while not allowing any points scored?

A: “Our defense is coming around similar to what it was last year. It was really good last year, and so I think we can continue to get better. We’ve made a few moves, and it solidified the front seven, I think.