NP faces rival Independence

By Ike House
For the Cougars it is senior night as they take on vastly improved Independence with playoff standings at stake.
With only two district games left, the Cougars are playing for a first round home game with a win tonight. Independence has the top two district teams to get through before they can call their district season a success.
Tonight they take on the Cougars and next Friday Charleston.
Independence is also undefeated in the district along with Charleston. Independence is 6-3 overall and enjoying a six-game winning streak. The Cougars are 8-1 with only loss to Charleston. This week the Cougars have to face a different style of offense with Independence.
“Independence has a good scheme and coach (Richard) Russo is a good play caller. We undoubtedly have our hands full this week in trying to stop an offense that we don’t see very often,” head coach Carl Diffee said. “Our preparation this week has mirrored the O’Bannon and Coahoma Aggie weeks defensively and we plan to utilize multiple fronts to keep them off balance.”
This week the Cougars hope to keep their offense going after scoring 14 points in the first half and 18 in the second against Water Valley last week. However, they left 18 points on the field in the first half after three touchdowns were negated.
“Focus and commitment to fundamentals have been a focal point all week. We’ve dropped way too many balls in two weeks to be consistently successful,” Diffee added “our guys have responded this week and done a great job of locking in during practice, even if we don’t score on a drive we must get first downs. We have to move the football.”
Kenneth “K. J.” Jefferson is proving to be one of the best quarterbacks in 3A. He is third in the district in passing yards and could climb to the number one spot as a sophomore. He is up for 3A Player of the Year and has put on a show to earn it.
“KJ is bigger, faster, and stronger than he was even in week 1. His arm strength is exceptional for his age and his biggest growth has come in his preparation and understanding of defenses,” Diffee said. “He has an uncanny ability to transition from pre-snap to post snap ready and put the ball in the right spot. There isn’t much that he doesn’t recognize on Friday night.”
The Cougars are deep at receiver and running back positions. Diffee said their  focus is on spreading the ball and the more guys that get involved the better. All of the guys want to produce on Friday nights.
“But all of them also love seeing their teammates succeed. Anytime you have that kind of character on the field it’s good,” Diffee said “I can’t really say that we have done anything different offensively, the kids have just locked in and bought into what we are trying to do.”
Kickoff is 7 p.m.