The most anticipated game on opening night of 2006 could very well happen in Clarksdale.

The No. 1 state ranked South Panola Tigers and the No. 2 ranked Clarksdale Wildcats will meet on the gridiron at Crumpton Field.

Bragging rights are on the line as these two Mississippi powerhouse teams prepare for a battle of Tigers and Wildcats.

"I think they are making this bigger than it will be," said assistant coach Trenell Edwards. Edwards coaches the wide receivers and defensive backs for the Tigers.

"We are going to be able to catch the ball some," Edwards said.

He was a little skeptical about pass coverage though.

For the past few years, both teams have opened the seasons against each other in an effort to see who draws blood first.

Though the temperatures are expected to be in the lower 90s and upper 80s at kickoff time, this will not stop the two teams from going at each other like they are cold and trying to warm up.

The humidity is expected to be at 78 percent before the game ends and there is a 30 percent chance of rain. The temperature is expected to drop to around 82 degrees by the end of the game.

South Panola has won the last four contests in route to a 59-1 record going into this season. Last year the Tigers walked away with a 27-7 win. South Panola enters the season with a 45-game win streak on the line.

Clarksdale is reeling from the loss of one its "strongest" players in Jamal McGregory, who broke the two largest bones in his left leg in practice Tuesday and will miss the rest of the season, according to published reports. McGregory was a two-way tackle.

As for the Tiger offensive line, offensive line coach Michael Fair said they will be "pretty good."

"We have as large as line as any high school I have ever heard," Fair said. "Everybody is in a new position this year in order to get the best ones on the line."

The OL is averaging 301 pounds, according to Fair, at 308, 310, 280, 280 and 325 pounds for the starting five.

"That’s about the size the Mississippi State line was when I played there," Fair said.

Head coach Ricky Woods says this game will be a "measuring stick" for the team.

"A lot of them are untested and we have to figure out how they will respond," Woods said. "We have to sort of wait and see. We have these guys who haven’t played. Those in a starting role are going to get tested Friday and we have to see how they respond. You don’t know in practice."

Even though some say this game may be a given, Woods disagrees.

"Clarksdale has a great team," he said. "They have juniors who, I figure, two of them will be Dandy Dozens next year, both running backs. They have some great players, not just good players."

Still, Woods reports the three and have weeks of practice have been good.

"They have done everything we have asked them to do," Woods said.

Even though it has been hot, he said the players are in good shape.

He expects a good crowd to be on hand to watch and support the Tigers.

South Panola has been granted some national attention this week. The announcement was released Wednesday that the Tigers will be featured in the August 28 edition of Sports Illustrated. Sports Illustrated ranked the Tigers No. 8 in its top 20 high school poll this week.

Also Prepsportsonline is featuring South Panola High School throughout the year on a web site devoted to SPHS. They will have a camera man at each football game. The dedicated website is .

Kickoff time on Crumpton Field is 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WBLE 100.5 FM.
    

The North Panola Cougars will also kick off their 2006 season tonight on the road to Booneville High School.

The Cougars will be taking a new offensive scheme into the season, along with a new head coach in Vincent Johnson.

In last year’s battle, the Cougars even led the Blue Devils at one point, but lost the game by five points, 30-25.

These two non-conference teams have always bought out the best in each other when meeting for the opening game of the season.

Kickoff is 7 p.m.
 

The North Delta Green Waves will start their 2006 football season tonight hosting their biggest rival of the year, the 3A Magnolia Heights Chiefs, in a huge non-conference game.

The Green Waves moved from 2A to 1A this year, so this will be a bigger challenge for them. The game between these two schools go back several years and it holds the record for attendance.

These two schools are close in miles and there are many friends between the two schools that also go back in years, including coaches. This game will give the winner bragging rights for a year until the next game is played between them.

In 2004, the Green Waves defeated the Chiefs
35-21 and in 2005, the Chiefs defeated the Green Wave 31-6. A little bit of revenge plays a factor for both teams who so want the big win for themselves.

Standing room only is expected as always when these two teams meet on the gridiron.

Head Green Wave Coach Richard Russo said, "I think that it’s a good test for us. Right out of the gate, we will see how we are going to be and how we will respond. If we let that No.3 in front of that "A" bother us, then we weren’t as mentally tough as I thought that we were."

The Green Waves will start their season with 28 players on their roster. Eleven seniors will lead the team followed by seven juniors and 10 sophomores.

They will be under the leadership of No. 6 junior quarterback J.T. Dalrymple who is 5’11", weighing in at 150. Some other players who will be helping lead the team will be seniors Nick Douglas, Evan West, Jim Beard, Dakota Mabry, Jon Michael Ware, Josh Ratliff and juniors Josh Garrott and Devin Maples.

Assisting Head Coach Russo will be David Hardy, Brad Wilson, Lance Thomas, and Adam Waldrup. Hardy and Wilson were both on the coaching staff last year. Lance Thomas was an assistant coach at North Delta before and took a head coaching job at another MPSA school in 2005. Waldrup graduated from North Delta in 2002 and is a volunteer coach this year.

The Chiefs have 24 players on their roster. Twelve are seniors, six juniors, and six sophomores. They will be under the leadership of sophomore quarterback Cameron Lawrence. Some other players to watch will be tightend Addison Lawrence, Hunter Ferguson, Tauran Harper, Kyle Collinson, Jonathon Red, Johnathan Faught, Kyle Glidewell and T.J. Wiggins.

Head Coach for the Chiefs is Cliff Young. Assisting him will be Tim Beard, Bobby Bouchillon, Russ Whiteside and Jim Patterson.

In the jamboree game that the Chiefs played in last week, they lost to Pillow Academy 21-0 and lost to Washington 16-0.

Head Coach Russo said that the Chiefs are running a completely new offense than they did last year.

"They spread you out with four wide receivers, sometimes three, so they try to spread you thin there," said Russo "They want to spread you out to run the ball not necessary to throw the ball. The quarterback looks to be fast and has a good arm. If you give him time, he can hit his target."

Tight end Addison Lawrence has verbally committed to Mississippi State University with a full paid scholarship offer. He is 6’4" and weighs 255 pounds.

"They are a well-coached and a well disciplined team so we are going to have to play at a high level," Russo said. "I feel that the team will be ready for the Chiefs by Friday. To win this game, we are going to have to be very physical and execute well."

A pep rally for the Green Wave will be held at 2:30 p.m. in the school gym. Pregame with Head Coach Russo will be at 7 p.m. on FM 106.9 and kickoff is at 7:30 with Kirk Willingham and Mickey Aldridge with play-by play action.

Tune into the Mississippi High School Football Scoreboard Show starting at 10 p.m. for Green Wave highlights.