Even in the midst of the toughest portion of their schedule, the McComb Tigers have done anything but thrown in the towel.
In fact, the Tigers remain clearly focused on their goals of a winning record and playoff berth, according to head coach Malcolm Jones.
McComb (3-3 overall, 0-2 in Region 3-5A) enters Friday night’s contest at Wayne County on a three-game losing skid.
The past three games have been especially difficult for the Tigers considering their opponents have been North Pike (5-1), followed by Picayune and West Jones, the two top-ranked teams in the state in Class 5A.
Things don’t get any easier this week against Wayne County, ranked third in the state.
“Isn’t that something?” Jones said. “You’ve got the state’s No. 1, 2 and 3 teams in your region and you get them back to back to back. Who else can deal with that kind of adversity?”
The Tigers are coming off a 24-0 home loss last week to West Jones — a game in which McComb’s offense was limited to 83 yards total offense.
Much of the lack of offense comes due to the loss of running back Deontay Evans. The Tigers’ leading rusher with 302 yards and three touchdowns this season will miss his second consecutive game Friday night with a high ankle sprain, Jones said.
Despite the recent struggles, Jones insists his team remains upbeat.
“The kids have good spirits,” he said. “As a leader, I have help them keep things in perspective. We’ve talked about our goals of a winning record and making the playoffs. All that is still attainable.”
If the Tigers are to right the ship this week, they will have to do so against a Wayne County (5-1, 2-0) team ranked 11th in the state in all classes and has limited its opponents to 102 points over the first six games. The host War Eagles are coming off a 27-20 victory at Brookhaven last week.
The War Eagles’ spread offense is captained by junior quarterback Jaleel Lacey. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound Lacey has completed 29-of-50 passes this season for 443 yards and five touchdowns. He has been intercepted just once and has a 112 quarterback rating.
The backbone of Wayne County’s offense, however, is its running game in which they often run the zone option.
The War Eagles are especially deep at running back, where Dewayne Davis leads the way with 518 rushing yards and a touchdown on 93 carries.
Shondricco Jones is second in yards rushing for the War Eagles with 355 on 73 carries. He also has one touchdown.
Wayne County’s leading scorer in the backfield is speedster Rasharid Boman. He has carried 49 times for 271 yards and four TDs.
“They do a good job of executing their offense,” Jones said. “Their quarterback has a pretty good arm and they have three very good running backs they give the ball to.”
