By Myra Bean

North Delta will be playing in its first North State game since 2004.

Even better, the Green Wave will get to host the event.

“It’s huge,” said Green Wave head coach Dan Werner. “The fact that we are playing for the north half and having it right in front of our home crowd, especially after our crowd supported us so well down at Simpson. It’s great for us to come back and show them how much we appreciate them.”

North Delta (10-1) will host the Leake Academy Rebels (10-2) of Madden beginning at 7 p.m. The winner earns a showdown in the MAIS AA State Championship game with the winner of the River Oaks, La./Brookhaven Academy contest next Friday. The state championship will be played at Millsaps College in Jackson at 5:30 p.m.

Both teams are showing up in the prep polls around the state in MAIS. Mississippi Prep Sports Source (MPSS) ranks North Delta at No. 8 and Leake at No. 13.

Leake, the No. 2 team out of District 3 behind district champion Simpson, defeated Marshall 30-0 in the first round and Winston Academy last week 23-21.

Madden is located in Leake County between Madison and Neshoba Counties. Madden lies a few miles northwest of Carthage.

The Rebels lost back-to-back games by one point each in October to Simpson (14-13) and Copiah Academy (16-15). The next week they made Newton pay with a 59-6 whipping. Leake has scored 488 points this season averaging 41 points per game and has given up 143 points, averaging 12 points per game. They have had two shutouts this year.

Leake has a team not unlike the Green Wave, according to Werner. They are a power running team with a real good defense, as evidenced by the low scores.

Werner’s game plan is to continue to run the ball and put up a strong defense.

“If they give us some chances, we are going to try to put some passes down the field and complete the long ball like we did against Simpson,” Werner said. “If not, we have to get some steady drives and keep our defense off the field.”

Some main ball handlers for the Rebels include senior fullback Ethan Bobo, senior split end/cornerback  Zach McGarr, senior split end Gib Brantley, senior quarterback Grant Wilson, senior runningback Joshua Mascgni, senior tight end Tanner Winstead, junior tailback Brad Hunter and sophomore tight end Will Myers. The kicker is senior Dyland Alford.

Werner is not worried about the team having confidence.

“I am actually going the other way hoping we are not too overconfident,” he said. “I understand this is a very good team, maybe better than Simpson. They are still around and Simpson’s not. They are a very good football team so we need to focus on them.”

Werner pointed out some players who have been instrumental in getting the Green Wave this far that are not in the spotlight very much.

He pointed out senior offensive/defensive lineman Carson Bailey “who plays both ways for us and has done a great job.”

Senior wide receiver/defensive back Corbin Baker is getting some press lately because of the touchdowns he has scored for the team.

“He has been starting both sides for two years,” Werner said. “We have won a lot of football games with him.”

The same goes for junior offensive/defensive lineman Sy Pritchard who is a two-way starter as a junior. Pritchard is the only junior who is a two-way starter.

One of the other players Werner and offensive coordinator Benjy Pierce pointed out was senior Derrick Shawn, free safety.

“Here is a guy who played quarterback last year and plays free safety,” Werner said. “He helps us immensely on special teams. He had a bunch of tackles last week.”

At the beginning of the season, Werner and the seniors talked. He referred to the seniors as “obviously the heart and soul of the football team.”

“I can sit up and say things over and over and they get tired of hearing it,” he said. “If the players start repeating it and everyone buys into it, then you are going to be a good football team.

“I think that’s what happened,” Werner continued. “You can tell by the character of the team. I think we have been in four games where we were tied or behind in the second half and we have come back and won against good football teams. That shows you the type of leadership of the seniors.”

Tickets for tonight’s game are $7.