District play begins for most Shelby County High School football teams

District play begins for most Shelby County High School football teams Dennis Phillips Dennis@lightandchampion.com Sports Thu, 10/10/2024 - 05:50 Image Body

Tenaha Tigers vs. Alto Yellowjackets The Tenaha Tigers were the only Shelby County team on the field the last week. The Tigers lost to the Overton Mustangs by a score of 65-23. The Tigers, off to a rough start in district play, have dropped their first two conference games and will face the 4-1 Alto Yellowjackets at home this Friday at Tiger Stadium.

Tenaha must win this game if they have any hope of making the playoffs this year. Alto is favored to win over the Tigers by the predicted score of 32 Alto—19 Tenaha, but predictions are not the final results. Tenaha could pull off the upset this week with homefield advantage and begin to right their season.

Center Roughriders vs. Carthage Bulldogs The Center Roughriders took care of business for a record of 5-0 in district play, but now, it’s time for the run to the playoffs, and up first on the list is the rivalry with the Carthage Bulldogs. This writer has not been in Shelby County but for about a year, and even I know about this matchup. It’s a thing of legend when talking about high school football rivalries. Carthage has come out on top in the last couple of meetings, but is this an improved Center team? Carthage is 5-1; well, it looks like the Bulldogs know what it means to lose a game; what is the saying if they bleed, they can be defeated? It is known that in big rivalry games, things can shift in a play. One big momentum swing and the prediction that Carthage should win will dwindle, and the Roughriders can taste sweet victory against their old foes, the Carthage Bulldogs.

Joaquin Rams vs. San Augustine Wolves This matchup will be my pick for the game of the week. Both teams are 3-2, and I don’t like San Augustine, no offense. I’ll take the Joaquin Rams in this matchup. First and foremost, I’m biased, and I love all the Shelby County teams, but statistically, the Rams are favored to crush San Augustine by 20 points, which makes me happy. Joaquin dominates in almost every on-field statistic we could use to compare these two teams. Let’s go with the big one, total yards per game, Joaquin 456 to the Wolves 316. Not to mention, Joaquin dominates defensively, with more sacks and tackles per game on average.

Timpson Bears vs. Hemphill Hornets In the first week, I wrote that the Timpson Bears were going to be successful and in the playoffs this year. At 2-2 in non-district, I got a call this week from a reader asking me if I was really sure of that prediction, and the answer is YES!

The Bears start district play this week, facing the 1-4 Hemphill Hornets. Timpson is predicted to win this game by 14 points, but when I made the prediction, it was solely based on the heart of the Timpson Bears. I can read stats, and I can report them to you. The one stat I can not report is the heart of a team, and Timpson has heart—from the players and coaches to the fans in the stands. I’ll take the Bears at home, and you can take that to the bank.

P.S. The Bears are rested after a bye week; that always helps the team’s morale.

Shelbyville Dragons vs. Garrison In the newspaper office is Ashley Chandler, a former cheerleader for the Shelbyville Dragons. Since the start of the season, she has continued her cheerleading ways for her Dragons. I had to learn on the fly for this team. I really did not know much about Shelbyville when I got to Shelby County, but I’m learning and very impressed so far this year.

I do know Garrison, however, and at 4-1, Garrison can be a very tough opponent. Looking over the Dragons’ district schedule, I see only three games of genuine concern: Garrison, Timpson, and Joaquin. Two of these are inner-county games, so naturally, you would have to expect tough play. I do like that the prediction makers have Shelbyville favored by more than 22 points when the Dragons play host to Garrison, but Garrison can come from behind and surprise a team, so the Dragons need to play all four quarters.