Darrell Gross, DJ Gainwell, Landen Brooks, Jeremiah Washington, Ny Johnson, Evan Gibbs, MJ Nickson, Trae Stevenson, Ashton Smith, Aaron Ferrell, Dakota Haralson, Allen Jenkins, Tre Taylor, Tiger Esco, Rhett Murphy, Clyne Lenoir, Drew Wamble, Parker Dancer, Jackson Hood, Simon Naylor, Quinn Johnson, Brayden Quick, Lawson Branson, Donovan Moore, Branden Harris, Corey Washington, PJ White, Eli Henderson, Cameron Seals, Andrew Bell, Garrett Smith, Hayden Houpt, Weston Wertz, Julian Slaughter, Tylher Pickens, Reid Hager, Tristan Anderson, Micah Satcher, Devaurian Jackson, Jahmichael Collins, Reed Burrell, Alex Martin, Banks Polk, Parker McGeehee, Parker Furr, LaGaryius Adams, Shelton Cooper, Harris Hartlein, Shunn Ficklin, Samuel Pummel, Nathan Matthews, Max Hays, Christian Myers, Colin Drake, Tyler Winston, Bradley Jordan, Tucker Parman, Brayden Derryberry, Glen White, Braxton Edwards, Camren Porter, Mason Gordon, Wade Estess, Parker Hancock, Kaleb Lacy, Bryce Deloach, Ryan White, Jeremy Matthews, Jordan Johnson, Joseph Walker, Da’Mon Van Buren, Sam Hoerman, Malachi McCullough, Braxton Anderson, Kameron Thomas, Dylan Everett, Will Harris, Ken Bouldin, Zyon Jones, Kenthravious Francis, Dillon Travis, Jayden Gross, Kevon Johnson, Jaylen Matthews, Head Coach Russell Mitchell, Assistant Coaches Charlie Shearer, Michael Washington, Dustin Barrick, Brad Smothermon, Sharone Wright, Austin Blaine, Drew Gray, David D’Angelo, Darrell Live.
October is filled with football and fall festivals. This week in Madison County there are two teams that are in critical need of a successful harvest under the Friday night lights in a rivalry game between Germantown and Madison Central. This could be the year that the Mavericks find a way to pick up their first-ever win over their county counterparts or we’ll see the Jaguars continue their dominance.
It’s a bit of a must-win for both these teams. Madison Central comes in with an 0-1 region record and 4-3 overall. The Jags have lost three of four, including a nail biting loss to Tupelo 14-12. Germantown is 1-1 in region with a massive upset over Starkville 34-33 and a blowout loss to Tupelo 42-3. The winner this week will solidify playoff aspirations and keep alive the chance to host a first round game.
This is an odd region this year. This new 7A region was created with Madison Central, Germantown, Clinton, Starkville, Tupelo and Murrah. Right before the season though, Murrah announced it would compete as an independent in football, dropping this from a six to five-team region, which meant everybody would only play four region games with the top four team earning a playoff bid. There is no room for error each week, making every game a must-win.
“We have played ourselves into contention, and if we could get by one more we could possibly host. We know with the strength of this region the goal is to just get in you’ve got a great chance to keep going,” said Germantown Head Coach Russell Mitchell.
“All five of our teams in the region are playoff worthy and one is not going to make it,” said Madison Central Head Coach Toby Collums. “For us this week it’s simple, this is a great rivalry game, it’s a critical region game with great coaches. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will be in position to win.
The Mavericks are perhaps deeper than they have ever been on both sides of the ball. This week though, Germantown will be without its most versatile offensive player in Nyrikius Johnson. The sophomore suffered a knee injury in the Mavericks upset win over Starkville two weeks ago. Johnson is the team’s leading rusher with 496 yards and eight touchdowns, second in receiving with 244 yards and a score, and is a perfect two for two in passing with two touchdowns. In his absence, the spotlight will shine on sophomore Lawson Branson to play a big role against the Jaguars. Branson has 49 carries for 286 yards rushing and 13 catches for 193 yards and two more scores. Senior running back/linebacker Dakota Haralson can also make a splash with 30 carries for 237 yards and three touchdowns.
Madison brings in a stingy quick, senior-led defense which will put the onus on senior quarterback Jackson Hood to make great decisions with the football. So far this season, Hood has thrown for 1,135 yards with seven touchdowns, but he’s also been intercepted six times. Hood is closing in on 3,000 passing yards for his career. His favorite target is junior receiver Traeden Stevenson, who has 38 catches for 563 yards (a 14.8 yards per catch average) and six touchdowns. With Nyrikius Johnson out, the Jags will look to Branson and Stevenson to set the pace.
While the Jaguars defense is not very big, they are fast and will be a tough test for the Mavericks. The linebackers are stout the strength in seniors Ryan McCall with a team leading 60 tackles, Rickey Banks with 56 tackles, and Jameson Mosely, 40 tackles.
“They are big, physical and just play great defense. They are holding opponents to very few points so it’s hard to score. They appear to be equally as good against the pass as they are to the run. They play some old fashioned, hard-nosed football,” said Coach Mitchell.
Senior defensive back Tyrone Richardson Jr. is excellent against the pass-and-run support. Richardson comes in with 46 tackles, three fumbles caused and blocked a field goal. Also look for Junior defensive linemen Myles Miller, Korey Robinson and Damorian Smith to make running the football tough on Germantown. Their quickness will make turning the corner tough on the running backs to get north-south.
The Madison Central offense is coming off a solid performance in a 35-0 shutout of Murrah in a 35-0 win. Coach Toby Collums is sticking with his two-quarterback system with sophomore Ben Picarella and junior Jaiden Johnson.
Picarella is more of the pocket passer, completing 50 of his 100 passes for 708 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions. Johnson is more mobile, throwing for 487 yards, rushing for nearly 100, has 1616 receiving and accounted for four total touchdowns. Neither has gaudy numbers and Collums decides how much to use them based on in-game decisions.
The receiving corps. has a pair of juniors that can cause the defense fits. Ryan Delaney leads the way with 16 catches for 376 yards, a 23-yards-per-catch average and four touchdowns. Zadarran Hart has 24 catches for 317 yards and two touchdowns.
The running game is the true strength of the Jaguars offense. Junior Glen Singleton has been a workhorse with 130 carries for 621 yards and six touchdowns. Senior Marviyan Jackson has carried 64 times for 337 yards and five touchdowns. The two have combined for 1,017 yards and are averaging five yards per carry.
Germantown’s defense is still licking its wounds a bit from last week’s 42-3 loss at Tupelo. Senior defensive lineman Darrell Gross will set the pace and is a force to be reckoned with. Gross stands 6’3” and weighs in at 270 pounds and is unbelievably quick.
“We are going to stress how big a game this is for our kids. Don’t look at scores or records because we are going to get their (Germantown’s) best. This is a must win for us,” said Coach Collums.
“We’ve ridden a region roller coaster so far. A big high of beating Starkville and a low of playing Tupelo on the road, on a Thursday night during fall break,” said Coach Mitchell. “We’ve had eight days to prepare, it’s senior night, our biggest rival, we are going to be ready.”
GERMANTOWN KEYS TO VICTORY
On Offense: Quick passes can neutralize Madison’s quick defense. Look to get the ball spread around and gobble up yards after the catch.
On Defense: Stop the run. Glen Singleton and Marviyan Jackson are a tough one-two punch. Force the quarterbacks to throw as they’ve thrown seven interceptions combined so far.
Limit mistakes/penalties: If history repeats itself, this will be a one-possession game. Too many penalties or turnovers could be the deciding factor.
MADISON CENTRAL KEYS TO VICTORY
On Offense: Pound the football. The running game is solid and teams have found a lot of success on the ground against the Mavericks.
On Defense: Bring the heat. Quarterback Jackson Hood can be forced into mistakes and turnovers.
Limit mistakes/penalties: If history repeats itself, this will be a one-possession game. Too many penalties or turnovers could be the deciding factor.
MCHS AT A GLANCE
Class/Division: 7A Region 2 (MHSAA)
Record: 4-3 overall, 0-1 in Region
Head Coach: Toby Collums
Assistant Coaches: Jonathan Brooks, Dusty Finley, Jay Livingston, Mike Hendershot, Terrance Robinson, Tate Rogers, Britt Rowell, Ben Shelton, Cody Upton, Brady Hoda.
The Series: Greenville Christian leads 1-0
Last Match-Up: Greenville Christian won 64-32 in 2021.
GERMANTOWN AT A GLANCE
Class/Division: 7A Region 2 (MHSAA)
Record: 0-1 overall, 0-0 in Region
Head Coach: Russell Mitchel
Assistant Coach: Dustin Barrick, Charlie Shearer, Corky Houghton, Ben Dew, Bruce Brady, Brad Smothermon, Michael Washington, Sharone Wright, Drew Gray, David D’Angelo, Kellen Tadlock, Austin Blaine.
The Series: Madison Central leads 4-0
Last Meeting: Madison Central won 35-6 in the 2022
regular season
