Tables turned on prep football teams

By By Marty Stamper/EMG Sports Assistant
January 25, 2003
With new classifications and different divisions/regions for the upcoming two school years, several football teams will face new opponents in 2003 and 2004.
Wayne County, the 2002 Class 5A state champion, drops to Class 4A and gets new division opponents. The War Eagles will also find new faces among their non-division games as well. Wayne County will play Columbus, Madison Central, and McComb in non-league games.
West Lauderdale's non-division games will be with Clarkdale, Enterprise, Philadelphia, and Newton. For the first time since West fielded its first team in 1962, the Knights won't play Northeast Lauderdale this fall. The Trojans hold a 26-13-2 lead in the series.
Northeast's non-division games will be with Northwest Rankin, Southeast Lauderdale, Newton County, and Neshoba Central.
Philadelphia's non-division games will be against Choctaw Central, West Lauderdale, Neshoba Central, Forest, and 2002 Class 2A state champion Taylorsville. The 2003 game with Taylorsville will be on the road.
Neshoba Central has scheduled non-division games with Aberdeen, Forest, Philadelphia, and Northeast Lauderdale.
The overhaul also revives the Newton-Philadelphia series which is one of the most frequently-played football series in East Central Mississippi. The two will meet for the next two years as members of Division 5-2A after missing out in 2001 and 2002.
Union had the easiest job of putting together a schedule. Since 11 schools are in Region 3-1A, each team automatically has 10 games with each of the 11 taking a week off during the season. Union's open date fell in the 11th week. Since the other 40 1A schools will be playing and since Classes 2A, 3A, and 4A will be in the playoffs, the date will go unfilled.
Nanih Waiya was able to fill its lone open date with Kemper County.
Division tourney set
In Class 5A, the Division 2-5A basketball tournament will be at Tupelo with Meridian being the lone area participant. Wayne County will be the lone area school competing in the Division 6-5A Tournament at Forest Hill.
In Class 4A, Northeast Lauderdale will host the Division 5-4A Tournament with Quitman joining Northeast as the area's two participants. The Division 2-4A Tournament will be at Noxubee County with Louisville and Neshoba Central also competing.
In Class 3A, all six area schools will compete in the Division 5-3A Tournament at Carthage. Heading to Leake County are Choctaw Central, Heidelberg, Newton County, Philadelphia, Southeast Lauderdale, and West Lauderdale.
Area Class 2A schools are split into two divisions. Kemper County will host the Division 5-2A Tournament with Clarkdale and Newton County being among the competing schools. Taylorsville will host the Division 7-2A Tournament in which Enterprise will participate.
Likewise, area Class 1A schools are divided into two divisions. Union and Lake will play in the Division 6-1A Tournament at Pelahatchie, while Nanih Waiya and Noxapater will compete in the Division 5-1A Tournament at Ethel.
Parity: Good or Bad?
There's little doubt the NFL has achieved parity among nearly all of its teams. Whether that's good or not, well, we'll leave that up to you.
It has to be good for tickets sales if a team isn't eliminated from the playoffs until the final week of the season as so many teams were this year. After all, the regular season has meaning. That can't be said of Major League Baseball where we've known the Yankees and Braves would be in the playoffs months before the season opener for so long it's sickening.
At the same time, there's the train of thought that says when no team stands out, it makes the whole league look shabby.
The salary cap, expansion, and free agency have made it impossible to put together the dynasties of old in pro football.
Some will say that it gives the underdogs a chance. Heck, former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle would have loved to have been able to say, "On any given Sunday, any team can beat another," with a truly straight face. Take out Cincinnati, and that's the case now.
But even in a league where equality is embraced tighter than a hug from Anna Nicole, shouldn't there be room for greatness as well?