Lamar to begin title defense
By By Ryan Satcher / staff writer
November 10, 2004
The Lamar Raiders will try to defend their MPSA Class AAA Division II title starting with Friday night's postseason game in Senatobia.
The Raiders finished the season with a 7-4 record and will now try to pick up a postseason win on the road against Magnolia Heights.
The game is set to be a battle between the past two state champions. Magnolia Heights defeated Lamar two years ago in the first round of the playoffs on its way to the state title.
Magnolia Heights will depend on quarterback Russ Sneed to lead the offense on Friday night. Magnolia also has two solid running backs in Hunter Ferguson and Jonathan Ferguson.
The Raiders won't be facing an offensive line that is as big as some of their previous opponents but will need to win the battle up front against a talented line.
Magnolia Heights has won its last seven games and has outscored its opponents 222-34 over the past five games.
The Raiders have also been playing well after starting the season with a 1-3 record. Lamar has won six of its last seven games.
More importantly, Lamar was able to avoid injuries in the final weeks of the season and will come into the matchup with a full roster.
The Raiders will depend on Scott Owen to continue to lead the offense. He leads the team in rushing with 616 yards and has scored nine rushing touchdowns.
He also has completed 124-of-232 passes for 1,948 yards and 18 touchdowns. He has thrown only eight interceptions.
Dustin Gray has 29 catches for 728 yards and nine touchdowns for Lamar. Brannon Harrison has 35 catches for 475 yards and two touchdowns, and Dustin Rivers has caught 22 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns.
