Area football teams prepping for postseason
The football postseason journey will begin this week for a majority of the high school football teams in the Madison County area. Many of these programs will have state championship aspirations, so here is a preview for each team going into their postseason runs.
Canton
With one game left in the regular season for Canton, the Tigers are enjoying one of their best seasons in recent program history. Sitting at 7-2 overall and 3-1 in region play on the season, Canton has already clinched a playoff spot and their first winning season since 2019. Canton will face off against Holmes County Central on the road on Thursday, with the winner clinching second place in the region and at least one home playoff game and the loser having to go on the road for the first round of the playoffs. The favorites in MHSAA 5A heading into the postseason include West Point, Gautier, and Cleveland Central.
Canton Academy
Canton Academy will begin their postseason journey on Friday night against a Greenville St. Joseph team that ended the Panthers’ season last year in a one-point thriller in the MAIS 3A semifinals. While this year’s edition of this matchup will be in the quarterfinals, this is a game Canton Academy went into the offseason and through the regular season thinking about. The Panthers enter the playoffs as the three-seed, with Riverfield Academy and Kirk Academy as the other contenders, being the one and two seeds in MAIS 3A.
Germantown
Germantown will be on a bye week this week and will need some help from other teams in order to qualify for the MHSAA 7A playoffs. The dream scenario for the Mavericks is that Madison Central defeats Clinton and Starkville defeats Tupelo, as that would guarantee a playoff spot for Germantown, although this scenario is unlikely with Tupelo being undefeated and the state’s top-ranked team. A Madison Central win over Clinton and a Tupelo win over Starkville would put Clinton, Starkville, and Germantown in a three-way tie for the region’s final two playoff spots, with tiebreakers to be determined after this week’s games. If Clinton wins over Madison Central, that would eliminate Germantown regardless of what happens in the Tupelo-Starkville game.
Jackson Academy
Jackson Academy enters the MAIS 6A playoffs as the four-seed and will host PCS this week in the first round of the playoffs. The Raiders defeated PCS 38-0 on the road two weeks ago in the regular season matchup between the two teams. A win in that matchup would set up a huge rivalry matchup with Jackson Prep in the semifinals, who is undefeated and was the best team in the district in the regular season and won the regular season matchup between the two teams by a score of 35-10.
Jackson Prep
After a dominant undefeated regular season, Jackson Prep will have a bye in the first round as the one-seed in the MAIS 6A playoffs. The Patriots will host either Jackson Academy or PCS in the semifinals. Jackson Prep defeated Jackson Academy 35-10 in the regular season and beat PCS 56-10, with both of those games being played at Jackson Prep. Other favorites in MAIS 6A include MRA, Hartfield Academy, and JA.
Madison Central
Madison Central enters the final game of their regular season schedule with a playoff spot locked up, but still playing for seeding. With a win against Clinton on Thursday night, the Jaguars would lock up the two-seed in the region and at least one home playoff game. With a loss against Clinton, it would drop Madison Central to the three-seed in the region and push Clinton into the two-seed. The Jaguars will have a solid chance to make a deep run in the MHSAA 7A playoffs and a home matchup in the first round of the playoffs would definitely help with those chances. Other contenders in 7A include Tupelo, Brandon, and Oak Grove.
MRA
MRA will also be off this week, after securing the two-seed and a first round bye in the MAIS 6A playoffs. The Patriots will await the winner of the Hartfield Academy-Madison St. Joseph matchup that will be played this Friday for a home semifinal game. MRA defeated St. Joseph 55-13 and beat Hartfield Academy 44-35 during their regular season matchups with the two programs.
Ridgeland
Ridgeland will play their final regular season game on Thursday night against winless Vicksburg with a playoff spot locked up, but still playing for seeding. With a win, the Titans will have the three-seed in the region clinched. The only way Ridgeland could fall to the four-seed is if they lose to Vicksburg and Callaway defeats Neshoba Central. The Titans will be back in the playoffs after missing the postseason last year. The favorites in MHSAA 6A include Hattiesburg, Grenada, South Panola, and West Jones.
St. Andrew’s
St. Andrew’s will make a playoff appearance in Head Coach Channing Ward’s first year at the helm of the football program. It has been a turnaround this year so far for the Saints, as they finished third in their region standings and finished with an even 5-5 record in the regular season. Their first-round playoff matchup will be this Friday at Bogue Chitto. The favorites in MHSAA 2A include Charleston, Raleigh, Calhoun City, and Heidelberg.
St. Joseph
St. Joseph will face a steep challenge in the first round of the MAIS 6A playoffs, as they will square off against defending state champion Hartfield Academy. The Hawks have not been as dominant this year so far as they were last year, but will still be contenders for the MAIS 6A state title. Hartfield Academy defeated St. Joseph 62-20 during the regular season. If the Bruins are able to pull off the upset, they would play MRA in the semifinals.
Tri-County Academy
Tri-County Academy will begin their MAIS 4A state title defense as the favorites in the class this week, with a rematch of last year’s MAIS 4A semifinals against Centreville Academy that the Rebels won 45-0. The Rebels finished the regular season undefeated and will look to win their third state title in the last four years. Other contenders in the MAIS 4A playoffs include Bowling Green, Lee Academy, and Central Hinds.
Velma Jackson
Velma Jackson has been playing with the pain of losing last year’s MHSAA 1A state title game all season long and will start on their road to redemption with a first round playoff matchup against Mount Olive this week. After losing their season opener to Canton, the Falcons have rolled off eight straight wins heading into the playoffs. Velma Jackson will once again be contenders for the 1A state title, with Simmons, Baldwyn, Vardaman, and Lumberton also being in the hunt.