Wildcats smell' division title

By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
October 26, 2004
Rolando Hardaway can smell it.
At least, that is what the Meridian High School defensive lineman told his coach.
The 6-foot-2, 310-pound senior, who Wildcats head coach Ed Stanley refers to as a "gentle giant," let his coach know that he can smell a division championship coming to Meridian High.
Hardaway approached Stanley in the locker room recently and simply said, "Coach, I can smell it.
"I look at it from when I was at Kate Griffin, and I said to myself that I couldn't wait to play in high school," said Hardaway, who was one of four player representatives at the Wildcat Quarterback Club weekly luncheon on Monday at Barnhill's. "Our first year, we went 3-8, and we went 8-5 the next. Right now, we are undefeated."
Other players at the weekly afternoon booster club meeting were linebacker Lavarus Rue and wide receivers A.J. Brown and Johnathan Byrd.
The scent of a District 3-5A title may be so strong to Hardaway because the No. 3 Wildcats (7-0-1, 5-0 District 3-5A) enter the final stretch of the regular season with two home games left on the schedule.
Meridian High hosts Hancock (1-8, 1-4 District 3-5A) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, and the Wildcats wrap up the regular season at Ray Stadium taking on co-division leader Northwest Rankin (8-1, 5-0 District 3-5A) on Nov. 5.
"It's a great feeling to know we are going to play our last two regular-season games in Ray Stadium," Stanley said. "It feels good to know we are not going to have to load the bus, dress in another team's dressing and we look forward to playing in front of the home crowd. We think that is going to help us a lot."
With a showdown against Northwest Rankin for the district championship looming, the Wildcats will need to make sure they don't overlook this week's match up against Hancock.
The Hawks' lone win this season came against Natchez, which hasn't won a district game this year. Hancock followed its win with a 40-3 loss to Picayune last Friday.
"We have to put Hancock away before we even think about Northwest Rankin," Byrd said. "We know every team is going to be gunning for us, and we have to be ready for them every week."
Meridian High will also have to prove its mental strength, as the team will take a different approach leading into this week's game. The Wildcats did not practice on Monday, as the school had a day off. The players said they don't believe the extra day away from the practice field will hinder their preparation for Friday night's game.
"It shouldn't affect us much," Rue said. "We just take it one game at a time. We focus on the game."
The Wildcats' ability to stay focused has been aided by the recognition the team has received so far this year.
Meridian High has been ranked in the top 10 since the first snap of the season, and they players said knowing teams are looking to take them down has helped them be ready to play each week.
"Teams come after us, and a lot of the teams play their best game of the year when they play us," Brown said. "Every team in our district wants to beat us. We have to go out every day and prepare for that."