Many teams treat non-district prep football games as simply the preseason — games that help teams prepare for the real thing.
Nothing more and nothing less.
Tylertown’s program prides itself on filling up its non-district slate with tough opponents, instead of cupcakes.
The first test comes to Tylertown on Friday as the Chiefs host the 2010 3A state champion Forest Bearcats.
“We’ve always believed in playing a tough non-conference schedule,” first-year Tylertown coach Jason Johnson said. “Forest fits the bill for that kind of team.”
Tylertown’s rivalry with Forest only dates back to 2009, but it is a fierce one, to say the least.
In 2009, Tylertown beat Forest, 28-14, on its way to the 3A state title. Forest returned the favor in 2010, knocking Tylertown out of the playoffs with a 21-0 victory.
The relationship between Tylertown’s staff and Judd Boswell, Forest’s former coach who is in his first season at Clinton, blossomed into an annual series in 2011. The Chiefs took care of business with a 21-7 win.
This season, Forest has put together another strong team.
The Bearcats boast a talented combo in quarterback Luke Reynolds and running back Chris Mazique. Reynolds threw for 184 yards and Mazique rushed for 116 yards and two scores in a 27-14 win over West Lauderdale.
“They have a quarterback who manages the game real well and doesn’t make mistakes,” Johnson said. “Of course Forest always seems to have a quarterback who is a game manager and they do a good job of coaching that up there.”
The real matchup, however, lies between the two defenses.
Forest is known as a defensive stalwart, and neither team has scored more than 28 points in the previous three meetings.
Likewise, Tylertown wants to get its defense on par with its offense, which it’s known for across the state. The Chiefs piled up 406 rushing yards in the opener against Jim Hill.
“This is the fun part of it … when you get to play a good team, with good coaches and you get to try and scheme against them and try and figure out something to beat them with,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be pretty good cat and mouse game between the two of us.”
In addition to Forest, Tylertown will take on 3A power Franklin County, 6A Vicksburg and 2A power Bassfield, which gave Tylertown its only regular season loss in 2011.
