I continue to discuss 15 potential must-see games in this upcoming high school football season. In no particular order, the second installment of the three-part series:
Hattiesburg vs. Laurel
It wouldn’t be a list of the Top 15 must-see games of the football season without the Battle of the Little Brown Jug game. Last year was my first time to cover the game and it did not disappoint, and from the sound of it, the rivalry game never disappoints.
This year the game will be played between the bricks in Laurel, but if the past couple of seasons are any indication, the loser can very easily win the game if the two teams meet in the playoffs.
Hattiesburg has won the last two Little Brown Jug games, last losing in 2013, but the Tornadoes have knocked out the Tigers in the playoffs the last two seasons.
(RELATED: The first installment of the top 15 must-see games of 2017)
Resurrection vs. Lumberton
Lumberton made a huge statement last season when it took down Resurrection in Pascagoula during the regular season to help win the region title, and the Panthers proved it wasn’t a fluke by advancing through the playoffs all the way to the 1A State Championship.
It looks like the passing game is back for the Eagles, but they were mostly a running team last year. That could have been because they blew out a lot of teams, though, because that’s why Lumberton’s passing statistics were as high either.
Both teams look primed to make a huge run this season, so this will be a hurdle one of them will have to clear in order to set themselves up nicely for the playoffs. I’m definitely going to do whatever I can to get to this game.
Sumrall vs. Purvis
I was pretty excited about this game last year, because Sumrall was on a roll at the time of this matchup. However, it was a dud. Purvis took down the Bobcats 42-13 with the help of 366 rushing yards, while Sumrall only gained 194 total yards.
This PineBeltSPORTS editor in me wants this game to be a really good game. I cover both teams and know the coaches and players on both sidelines. Similar to Oak Grove-Petal, I like when our area teams play competitive games against each other year in and year out.
South Jones vs. Sumrall
This game is kind of a wild card game for me. If anything, it should be a good matchup between two local teams, but I have no idea how either team will look for the first game of the season.
The Bobcats are changing just about everything on offense, so they’ll use this game to help work the kinks out, and the Braves are bring back some solid talent.
Petal vs. Oak Grove
How can I make a list and not include this game? I didn’t really think last year’s game lived up to the rivalry hype, because Petal had control of most of the game. It’s not like this matchup can be good every year, right? Well, I believe this year will be a good one.
I’ve written a lot so far this summer and I’ll write it again, because Oak Grove has a ton of talent coming back. On the other side, Petal does have some weapons returning, but it has a lot more question marks heading into the season than the Warriors, in my opinion.
Still though, both teams can be really good and that can make for a great ballgame when the two meet in late September.
