From staff reports

Tonight’s Tallulah-Briarfield game is literally an elimination game.

With both teams tied with identical 1-1 records in District 6-A, the winner will hit the road for a first-round playoff game.

The loser will get a jump on deer season.

“It’s win and you’re in or lose and you’re out,” Tallulah coach John Weaver said. “It’s really a playoff week. It’s an added bonus that it’s a rivalry game. Kids dream of playing in these type of games.”

Quarterback Jacob Hopkins has been largely what makes the Briarfield (7-1, 1-1) wing-T attack go, but don’t be fooled. He’s not the only weapon in the Rebel arsenal.

“They’ve got a good cast of characters,” Weaver said. “Blake Lovell, who plays wingback, Ridge Creech at widout and Wyly Brown are all capable of breaking one. Justin Gardner is a hard runner who on third and four can bust out a 75-yard run. We’ve got to respect the jet and buck sweeps from them.”

Central Hinds at Amite

Central Hinds can complete a remarkable turnaround with a win tonight at Amite.

Central Hinds (6-4, 1-2 District 4-AA) lost four consecutive games — to four of the top teams in the MAIS ranks — at midseason, by a combined score of 155-42. It has since won four in a row, allowing just 26 points in the process, to claw its way to the top of the Class AA South wild-card standings. Beating a downtrodden Amite (1-9, 0-3) would assure the Cougars of the No. 1 wild card and a date with River Oaks (8-1) when the playoffs begin next week.

“We’ve done what I felt we were capable of doing. We knew those four games were going to be difficult,” Central Hinds coach Bobby Allen said. “We never gave up hope, and we never played a bad game in that stretch.”

Loyd Star at Hinds AHS

Hinds AHS has little to play for other than pride and momentum tonight, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The War Dawgs (6-3, 2-2) are locked into the fourth-place spot in Region 6-2A, and can’t move up or down no matter what happens tonight. They’ll head to Coahoma County for the first round of the playoffs next week.

Hinds committed several turnovers that led to points in a 39-0 loss to Puckett last week. Hinds earned its playoff spot by beating Enterprise-Lincoln and Madison-St. Joe — neither of which has a winning record.

Tonight’s game against Loyd Star (8-1, 3-1) gives the War Dawgs one last chance to prove themselves.

“I just want to keep the kids working hard and get battle-tested, and right the ship before the playoffs,” Hinds coach Michael Fields said.

Leland at South Delta

The Bulldogs (7-3, 4-0 Region 4-3A) can clinch the region title tonight in Rolling Fork with a win over the Leland Cubs (5-4, 3-1). South Delta smashed Bailey Magnet 52-0 last week to remain unbeaten in region play and a win against the Cubs will give the Bulldogs a home playoff game next week against a No. 4 seed. Jeremy Barnes leads South Delta with 666 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns while quarterback Ricky Green has thrown for 333 yards.

Central Holmes at SIA

The Confederates (2-7, 1-3) close out their season tonight in Rolling Fork against Central Holmes in a non district game. SIA lost last week at home to Deer Creek 34-0.

Port Gibson at Lawrence County

The Blue Waves saw their playoff hopes end with last week’s 30-0 home loss to South Pike. Port Gibson (4-6, 1-3) will close out the season with a trip to Monticello to face Lawrence County.