From staff reports

Week 3 of the high school football season marks a turning point for Tallulah Academy and Central Hinds. After two weeks of rivalry games that were almost a season unto themselves, both schools start rough stretches of the schedule against top-notch opponents.

Tallulah will host Glenbrook, the two-time defending MAIS Class A South State champions, tonight. Next week they’ll play Huntington in their district opener.

Central Hinds, meanwhile, takes on Lamar, which is ranked fifth in the Associated Press’ private schools poll. It’s the start of a brutal September that includes games with Bowling Green, Brookhaven Academy and Copiah Academy. All four opponents are among the top teams in Class AA.

“That’s about as tough as you can get. That’s three of the top five teams in the state. I don’t think anybody has as tough a stretch as we have,” Central Hinds coach Bobby Allen said.

Central Hinds is coming off a pair of big wins against Hillcrest and Greenville Christian. The Cougars have yet to give up a point and had two rushers — quarterback Jordan Currie and tailback Jordan Townsend — eclipse the 100-yard mark in last week’s 36-0 rout of Greenville Christian.

“We’re running the ball. We had over 400 rushing yards last week,” Allen said. “We’re doing a pretty good job of that, mainly between the tackles.”

Tallulah, meanwhile, is coming off a 28-6 loss to St. Aloysius that ended a two-game swing against Vicksburg schools. The Trojans beat Porters Chapel in the season-opener.

After two emotion-filled games, Tallulah coach John Weaver said he was glad to get to a part of the schedule where his team could focus only on football — even if it means playing two of the better teams in the Class A ranks.

“St. Aloysius, Porters Chapel is all we’ve heard around the school, from the kids, on Facebook. Now we get to go back to being football players,” Weaver said.

Hinds AHS at Crystal Springs

Hinds AHS squeaked out a 15-13 win over Port Gibson last week to even its record at 1-1. For a team with state championship aspirations, however, it’s been a shaky start.

The War Dawgs lost four fumbles in a 24-7 loss to Hazlehurst on opening night, then barely beat a Port Gibson squad that has won only three games since 2006. Crystal Springs (0-1) has won nearly that many against Hinds AHS alone, taking the last two games in the series. The Tigers beat Hinds 24-6 last season in Utica.

“I  knew we had a pretty tough schedule. All those schools are improving,” Hinds AHS coach Michael Fields said. “They’re probably going to be the biggest team we face all year, and athletic-wise they’re as good as anybody we’re going to see.”

Madison Parish at Wossman

The Jaguars open their season in Monroe against the one team they beat last year, Wossman. Madison beat Wossman 7-6 in last year’s thriller.

“Madison beat us last year at the end of the game,” Wossman coach Dale Zimmerman said. “They’re a spread offense, and they run it wide open. We’re going to have to work on our coverage on defense, and on offense we’re going to have to control the ball.”

SIA at Clinton Christian

The Confederates will shoot for their second win tonight in Clinton against new MAIS school Clinton Christian. SIA lost last week at Carroll Academy a week after opening the season with a 25-15 win at home against North Sunflower Academy. Abbott Hodnett leads SIA’s offense.

Port Gibson at Jefferson County

The Blue Waves (1-1) hope to bounce back from last week’s 15-13 loss to Hinds AHS with a road trip to Fayette.

Port Gibson is led by quarterback Jadarius Grigsby (6-of-18 for 92 yards) and running back Rudy Wilson (167 yards rushing). Senior safety Joshua Dotson, who returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown to lead Port Gibson to a 16-6 win in the season opener against Raymond, keys the defense.

South Delta at North Panola

The Bulldogs (1-1) seek to bounce back from last week’s 15-8 loss to rival Hollandale Simmons with a road trip to Sardis to battle North Panola. This is the first time the two schools have met in football. South Delta is paced by quarterback Jeremy Barnes (11-of-19 for 110 yards passing) and linebacker Jamichael Myles (27 tackles).