The Taylorsville Tartars host the Puckett Wolves Friday night in Taylorsville in the third round of the MHSAA South State 2A Playoffs.
Puckett (11-1), ranked No. 4 in the latest Class 2A Miss. AP Poll, is coming off a 21-14 win over North Forrest. Taylorsville (10-2) beat Lumberton 27-8 last week.
Friday’s game is a battle of two very successful programs who have played and won state titles.
“There’s a lot of tradition here at Taylorsville and at Puckett,” Taylorsville head coach Bud Blackledge said. “Our community expects this team to win every game of the season. The players expect this as well and this has been a motivating drive for our guys to play up to the expectations of teams from the past. It will be a challenge for two tradition-rich teams.”
Wolves head coach Jaris Patrick agreed with Blackledge.
“We went from being a 1A school to a 2A school. That’s a pretty big step,” he said. “Our players have taken it on themselves to make it back to Jackson.”
According to Blackledge, Puckett is a team that will try to control the time of possession. “Puckett doesn’t hurt themselves,” he said. “They have a really good running back. They really get after it. They also do a good job of controlling the clock.”
Patrick believes Tartar speed will be a big factor. “They are a very big team. Taylorsville is a very quick team,” he said. “They also have a very stingy defense.”
Blackledge believes turnovers will be a key factor in the game Friday night. “We have to limit our turnovers,” he said. “We also need to catch the ball and control the football.”
Patrick feels his offensive line will need to control the line of scrimmage. “Our offensive line will need to make some holes for our halfback,” he said. “Our defense must not give up the big play.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
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File Photo/James Pugh
Tartars host tough Wolves
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