Photo by Blake Harrell
Veteran sportswriter and high school football expert Robert Wilson is doing the Germany Law Firm, PLLC/Mississippi Scoreboard predictions column each week during the high school football season on teams from Hinds, Madison, and Rankin County. Wilson had a 16-11 record (59.3 percent) last week and has a 45-18 record (71.4 percent) this season.
By Robert Wilson
Warren Central (2-0) at Germantown (1-1)
Defending MHSAA Class 6A state champion Warren Central and talented senior quarterback and Mississippi State commitment Nash Morgan, son of head coach Josh Morgan and nephew of offensive coordinator Rob Morgan, are riding an 11-game winning streak and haven’t lost since a 32-24 defeat at Madison Central midway through the 2025 season. Nash Morgan, the 2025 MHSAA Class 6A Player of the Year, has gotten off to a great start (254 passing yards and 211 rushing yards, 4 touchdowns in double-figure wins over Clinton and Pearl). He threw for 1,452 yards and 12 TDs and ran for 1,577 yards and 27 TDs last season as a junior. The success of the current Vikings brings back memories of when the Morgan brothers (Josh, Rob and Starkville coach Brett) played for Warren Central and their father, Robert, back in the 1990s and 2000s.
Germantown won’t be a pushover. The Mavs would be undefeated if not for a late field goal by Oak Grove last week in a 28-25 loss after rolling past Northwest Rankin 60-27 in the season opener. Germantown junior quarterback Langston Branson – the Taste Restaurant/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Player of the Week in his debut against Northwest Rankin – is a rising star (308 passing yards, 2 TDs, 163 rushing yards, 4 TDs). The Vikings also need to watch out for senior running back and Madison St. Joseph transfer Sy McBeath, who has had back to back 100-yard rushing games (239 yards, 2 TDs). Warren Central outscored Germantown 52-41 last season. Expect another high scoring game between two of the Top 10 teams in Mississippi (Germantown is ranked No. 6 and Warren Central No. 9 in the state by MaxPreps).
Germantown 42, Warren Central 35
Brookhaven (2-0) at Madison Central (1-1)
The defending MHSAA Class 5A state champion Panthers are rolling, have won 11 games in a row and have a good shot of a possible second straight state title. Brookhaven is talented, led by senior defensive lineman and Texas commitment Derwin Fields, senior offensive lineman and Colorado commitment Coderro McDaniel, senior quarterback and Mississippi Gulf Coast commitment Jaden Allen. There is also junior Tanner Hardy, who returned two punts for scores, ran back a fumble for another score and intercepted a pass last week against Franklin County. Also, senior running back Jordyn Kees, who has an incredible 6,204 yards in his career entering this season, transferred from MHSAA Class 2A Loyd Star. He could possibly break the Mississippi career rushing record of Presbyterian Christian School’s Isaiah Woullard (8,334 yards in 2013-16). Brookhaven coach Darien Dorsey, who played at McLaurin High and Belhaven, has done an excellent job as head coach since he came from Georgia last season and has a 14-3 record. Brookhaven better run away from Madison Central senior linebacker and Western Kentucky commitment Corey Wiggins, a member of the Taste Restaurant/Mississippi Scoreboard Preseason Metro Jackson Elite 11 Team, who has made 38 tackles in two games. Brookhaven defeated Madison Central 20-17 last season and will get their second straight win over the MHSAA Class 7A Jaguars.
Brookhaven 28, Madison Central 24
Jackson Prep (3-0) at Tri-County Academy (3-0)
The Patriots are running on all cylinders and appear to be gearing up to make a run at another MAIS state championship, and the second under head coach Doug Goodwin. Senior running back Wade Smith is having an outstanding season and has 562 yards and seven touchdowns and is complimented by junior running back Herrin Goodman, who has 268 yards, an eye-popping 14.9 yards per carry, and three TDs. And the offensive line is solid. Senior linebacker Gaines Reeves, the nephew of Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, and senior linebacker Brogen McCluskey, lead Prep with 36 tackles each. Coach Philip Wasson has guided Tri-County to the MAIS Class 3A state championship game for the last five years, and won it in 2021, 2023 and 2024. Prep needs to slow down Tri-County’s Cade Hunt, who had 222 yards on six carries, an amazing 37 yards per carry, and three TDs in last week’s 50-7 win over Madison St. Joseph. Class 4A Prep, with the most students per grade in the MAIS, has too much talent and depth for the Rebels. Prep won 45-6 last season and this one will be similar.
Jackson Prep 35, Tri-County 7.
Collierville, Tenn. (1-2) at MRA (2-1)
Madison-Ridgeland Academy plays its second public school team from Tennessee this season when it plays host to Class 6A Collierville Friday night.
Collierville is ranked No. 23 in Tennessee.
In comparison, MRA lost 29-14 at Class 6A Ravenwood, Tenn, ranked No. 10 In Tennessee, in the season opener. MRA head coach Herbert Davis’ son, Hayden, is the offensive coordinator at Ravenwood.
MRA defeated Collierville 52-37, the most points scored on Collierville, which finished 9-4 and reached the 6A state quarterfinals, in last season’s game at Collierville.
Collierville has one of the best athletes in the country in senior defensive back-wide receiver-return specialist and Oregon commitment Tae Walden, Jr. (No. 1), rated the No. 3 player in Tennessee and the No. 5 athlete in the country in the Class of 2027 by MaxPreps. He has caught 20 passes for 228 yards and 1 TD, has made 9 tackles and has 44 return yards. Two more Collierville players rated in the Top 60 in Tennessee in the Class of 2027 are quarterback and Iowa commitment Brayden Santibanez (rated the No. 56 player in the state and No. 85 quarterback in the country) and 6-foot-4, 310-pound offensive lineman and Charlotte commitment Brayden Washington (rated No. 60 in the state).
MRA comes in with a lot of confidence after last week’s 42-21 victory over Hartfield Academy in the first meeting between the MAIS Big 4. Senior quarterback Austin Banks has completed 62.6 percent of his passes for 814 yards and 11 TDs with only one interception in his first three career starts. Junior running back Colson O’Cain has 180 rushing yards and 1 TD while playing only five quarters (he injured his ankle in the first half against Ravenwood and didn’t play against Jefferson Davis County but returned against Hartfield). Senior wide receiver Jack Dalton is having a monster year with 460 yards on 30 catches (tied for 11th in the country by MaxPreps) and five TDs. MRA’s top rated player is 6-2, 270-pound offensive lineman Caleb Unger (rated No. 14 in Mississippi and No. 34 interior offensive lineman in the country) and a member of the Taste Restaurant/Mississippi Scoreboard Preseason Metro Jackson Elite 11 Team.
MRA 35, Collierville 28
Jim Hill (1-1) at Lanier (2-0)
Former Provine High, Hinds Community College, Mississippi State and 11-year NFL defensive lineman Tommy Kelly has done an outstanding job in his third year as Lanier’s head coach. He has turned the program into one of the top teams in MHSAA Class 4A.He led Lanier to a huge turnaround season in his first year as head coach two years ago, winning eight games, five more than Lanier did the previous season, one more than the last three seasons combined, the first winning season since 2019, the most wins in a season since 2018 and won the first playoff for the school in 37 years. Kelly continued the success last season with a 10-2 record and is off to a 2-0 start this year with wins over Harrison Central (24-20) and Moss Point (20-0). The Bulldogs have one of the top junior running backs in the state in junior Knolyn Bailey, a member of the Taste Restaurant/Mississippi Scoreboard Preseason Metro Jackson Elite 11 Team. He gained 1,754 yards and scored 16 TDs last season and has 262 yards and three TDs so far this season. Lanier also has one of the top defensive lineman in the country in 6-4, 300-pound junior Geraci Carson, rated as the No. 1 player in Mississippi and No. 8 defensive lineman in the country in the Class of 2028 by 247 Sports. Carson already has 33 Division I offers, 13 from the SEC. Lanier and Jim Hall have one of the oldest rivalries in Jackson Public Schools. Lanier holds a 25-16 lead in the series.
Lanier 35, Jim Hill 6
In other games (winning team in bold):
Bogue Chitto (0-2) at St. Andrew’s (0-2)
Brandon (1-1) at Clinton (0-2)
Forest Hill (0-2) at Bay Springs (1-1)
Grenada (1-0) at Callaway (1-1)
Jefferson County (0-2) at Velma Jackson (1-1)
North Pike (1-1) at Terry (1-1)
Pearl (0-2) at Florence (0-2)
Pelahatchie (1-1) at Clarkdale (2-0)
Pisgah (1-1) at Sebastapol (1-1)
Provine (0-2) at McComb (2-0)
Puckett (1-1) at Noxapater (1-1)
Richland (1-1) at McLaurin (1-1)
Vicksburg (0-2) at Ridgeland (1-1)
Wayne County (1-1) at Northwest Rankin (1-1)
Brookhaven Academy (3-0) at Madison St. Joseph (0-3)
Canton Academy (2-1) at Manchester (1-2)
Central Hinds Academy (2-1) at North Delta (2-2)
East Rankin Academy (2-1) at Oak Forest, La. (2-1)
Newton County Academy (2-2) at Discovery Christian (4-0)
Prentiss Christain (2-2) at Christ Covenant (3-0)
Park Place Christian (2-0) at Stringer (0-2)
Raymond (1-1) at Copiah Academy (2-1)
