Road no woe for NEL tonight

By Staff
Trojans looking for second win; WL hosts EHS
By Austin Bishop / EMG regional sports director
September 10, 2004
Northeast Lauderdale head football coach Steve Nelson may be happy his team is playing on the road tonight.
The 1-1 NEL Trojans pay a visit to Decatur to take on 0-2 Newton County High School at 7:30.
This is the sixth time the two schools have met in the series and the home team has yet to win. Newton County took a 30-20 win at NEL last week.
While the contest is a non-division game, it is an important one for both teams. The Trojans are coming off an impressive 32-7 win over Southeast Lauderdale in a driving rainstorm last week, while Class 3A Newton County is playing the third of four Class 4A teams it has on the schedule to open the season.
The Cougars fell to Lafayette County 28-7 on the road last week, after opening the season with a 26-14 home loss to Kosciusko.
Newton County will be trying to improve on its passing game, which has seen just five completions to go with six interceptions this season, while the Trojans are likely to count on the speed of quarterback Maurice Langston and the slashing running of running back Shawn Loyd to move the ball down the field.
After tonight's game, the Trojans begin Division 5-4A play at Northeast Jones next week, while Newton County pays a visit to non-division foe Quitman.
Enterprise at West Lauderdale
The Knights will be trying to get back into the win column when they host Enterprise tonight at 7.
West Lauderdale dropped a tough non-division loss to visiting Philadelphia 14-10 last week, after leading late in the game.
Enterprise picked up its first win of the season last week, taking a 28-20 win over Clarkdale in a battle of rivals.
The Bulldogs will be counting on a strong running game to keep them in the game, while the Knights will look to answer with the inside-outside running combo of thundering fullback Scott Truesdale and speedy tailback Dameon Baylor.
While Enterprise hosts non-division foe Newton next week, the Knights travel to Philadelphia to open Division 5-3A play against Choctaw Central.
Union at Nanih Waiya
It's still early in the season, but a lot is riding on this game.
In a division that features each team playing 10 league games, Union and Nanih Waiya are both undefeated at 2-0.
Union has posted wins over Noxapater (21-18) and South Leake (37-0), while the homestanding Warriors shut out Sebastopol 14-0 last week.
Nanih Waiya has only allowed one touchdown this season, while UHS has put up 58 points. Something has to give.
The game is set for a 7:30 kickoff.
Union continues Region 3-1A play next week then the Yellowjackets host Edinburg.