By Austin Bishop and Bobby Gray / Special to The Star
While all five of the public school divisions are competitive at the top, none is more volatile than Class 1A of the Mississippi High School Activities Association.
Any of the top four teams could lay claim to the top spot in the rankings, and with justifiable reasons. But, after long and hard consideration, East Webster (9-0) remains on top of the Mississippi Prep Sports Source Rankings for the 11th straight week. Durant (10-0) stays firm at No.2, while Ray Brooks, the preseason No. 1, is at No. 3 with a 9-0 mark. Also 9-0, Puckett is No. 4.
In Class 3A Tylertown holds the top spot by a slim margin over 10-1 Franklin County, a team it beat in the regular season. Hazlehurst (8-2), jumped over undefeated Corinth (11-0) to take the No. 3 spot, while Newton County moved up to No. 5 and Winona shot from No. 9 to No. 6.
Five-time defending Class 5A champion South Panola is still the top team in its classification with Oak Grove moving up to No. 4 and Petal to No. 5, following Tupelo's 45-34 loss to Olive Branch.
The Top 10 in Class 4A is unchanged as all of the higher ranked teams had relatively easy first round playoff wins. Wayne County (11--0) is No. 1, followed by Noxubee County and D'Iberville.
In Class 2A Forest remains No. 1 after holding off an upset bid with a 46-45 win over Bay Springs. Taylorsville (11-0) is No. 2, followed by Baldwyn, Eupora and Ackerman.
Jackson Prep and Magnolia Heights remain No. 1 and 2 in the MPSAA Overall rankings and can solidify those spots with championship game wins on Friday at Mississippi College.
The top-ranked Patriots of Prep play Madison-Ridgeland Academy at 7 p.m. for the MPSA AAA Division-I championship, while Magnolia Heights.
MHSAA Class 5A
1
South Panola
11-0
2
Meridian
10-1
3
Madison Central
10-1
4
Oak Grove
10-1
5
Petal
10-1
6
Olive Branch
9-1
7
Tupelo
8-3
8
Ocean Springs
9-1
9
Hattiesburg
8-3
10
Southaven
8-3
11
Northwest Rankin
9-2
12
Clinton
8-3
13
George County
6-5
14
Natchez
6-4
15
Murrah
6-5
Moving Up:
Oak Grove, Petal and Olive Branch each moved up one spot to No. 4, 5 and 6 respectively.
Moving Down:
The only drop in the rankings came when Tupelo lost to Olive Branch 45-34 and fell from No. 4 to No. 7
Lurking Around:
The only other team that can remotely be considered for the Top 15 is 6-5 Provine and the Rams pay a visit to No. 1 South Panola on Friday night.
MHSAA Class 4A
1
Wayne County
11-0
2
Noxubee County
10-0
3
D'Iberville
11-0
4
Lawrence County
10-1
5
Shannon
10-1
6
Picayune
9-2
7
West Lauderdale
8-3
8
Quitman
10-1
9
Itawamba AHS
10-1
10
Brookhaven
7-2
11
Pearl
9-2
12
Vicksburg
9-2
13
Northeast Jones
8-3
14
West Jones
10-3
15
Lafayette County
7-4
Moving Up:
Vicksburg moved up one spot to No. 12, with NOrtheast Jones and West Jones also claiming one spot each. Lafayette County re-entered the rankings at No. 15 with a 13-0 win over West Point.
Moving Down:
West Point fell out of the rankings with the shutout loss in the first round of the playoffs. The Green Wave was ranked No. 12 last week and finished the year at 8-3.
Lurking Around:
New Hope, at 7-4, is certainly a team to watch. The Trojans host No. 12 Vicksburg in a very winnable second round game on Friday night.
MHSAA Class 3A
1
Tylertown
9-0
2
Franklin County
10-1
3
Hazlehurst
8-2
4
Corinth
11-0
5
Newton County
10-1
6
Winona
8-3
7
Louisville
8-3
8
South Pike
6-2
9
Magee
8-3
10
Ripley
8-2
11
Amory
6-5
12
Aberdeen
9-2
13
Columbia
9-2
14
Charleston
8-3
15
Collins
6-5
Moving Up:
Magee jumped to No. 9 on the heels of it's 38-26 win over Greene County, while Ripley climbed two spots to No 10 and Amory moved up four spots to No. 11 after beating Velma Jackson 37-20. Collins entered the rankings at No. 15 with a 45-18 win over Perry Central.
Moving Down:
Velma Jackson, formerly No. 10, and No. 13-ranked Perry Central fell out of the rankings with their first-round losses in the playoffs. Charleston also took a hard tumble, dropping from No. 8 to No. 14.
Lurking Around:
Just on the outside looking in are Senatobia (7-4), North Panola (7-4), Velma Jackson (8-2) and Perry Central (7-4).
MHSAA Class 2A
1
Forest
11-0
2
Taylorsville
11-0
3
Baldwyn
10-1
4
Eupora
9-2
5
Ackerman
9-2
6
Bassfield
9-2
7
West Bolivar
9-2
8
Philadelphia
9-2
9
Scott Central
7-3
10
Leland
9-2
11
Hollandale Simmons
8-2
12
St. Patrick
7-3
13
Walnut
9-2
14
Enterprise
8-3
15
Bruce
7-4
Moving Up:
Ackerman climbed two spots to No. 5 and Bassfield moved up four notches to No. 6. Scott Central, unranked last week, is now No. 9.
Moving Down:
Enterprise fell all the way from No. 5 to No. 14, while Bruce slid from No. 6 to No. 15 and St. Andrew's fell out of the rankings after being No. 9 last week.
Lurking Around:
East Marion (6-4), North Forrest (7-4), Hinds AHS (8-3), Leflore County (7-4), and South Delta (7-4).
MHSAA Class 1A
1
East Webster
10-0
2
Durant
11-0
3
Ray Broks
10-0
4
Puckett
10-0
5
Mt. Olive
10-1
6
Greenville St. Joseph
9-1
7
Weir
9-2
8
Sebastopol
8-2
9
Calhoun City
8-2
10
West Lowndes
7-4
11
Vardaman
8-3
12
Stringer
7-3
13
Bogue Chitto
8-3
14
Smithville
8-3
15
Nanih Waiya
7-4
Moving Up:
There was absolutely no movement in Class 1A this week.
Moving Down:
There was absolutely no movement in Class 1A this week.
Lurking Around:
Shaw, 6-4, is hoping to pull the upset at East Webster on Friday night. Drew, at 8-2, is also on the verge of breaking in to the rankings.
MPSA Overall
1
Jackson Prep
10-1
2
Magnolia Heights
9-1
3
Jackson Academy
7-4
4
Washington
8-3
5
MRA
6-5
6
Pillow
9-3
7
Lamar
9-3
8
Winston
12-0
9
Kirk
10-2
10
Clarksdale Lee
8-3
11
Parklane
7-3
12
Centreville
10-2
13
Trinity Episcopal
12-1
14
Porters Chapel
13-0
15
Canton
9-3
Moving Up:
Washington School moved up three spots to No. 4 with its convincing 42-7 playoff win over Lamar School, ,while Jackson Academy edged up spot to No. 3 despite losing 21-7 to top-ranked Jackson Prep. Canton, 9-3, entered the rankings at No. 15.
Moving Down:
Pillow fell three spots to No. 6 and Lamar tumbled two rungs to No. 7 after their playoff losses.
Lurking Around:
A playoff win could move Bowling Green (8-3) or Oak Forest (6-5) into the Top 15.
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