Local teams will be fighting for the chance to compete for their respective classification titles Friday night. In the South State 2A Championship, the Taylorsville Tartars will host the Bassfield Yellow Jackets, while in the 1A South State Championship, Mt. Olive will be in a rematch against Sebastopol at home.
Game time is 7 p.m.
Bassfield at Taylorsville
It will be the spread offense against the “Wing-T” in Taylorsville, as the Tartars (11-2) will square off against Bassfield (12-2). The Tartars are coming off a 40-26 win over Puckett, while Bassfield beat East Marion 42-7 last week.
Taylorsville head coach Bud Blackledge believes this game will be the toughest yet for the Tartars. “They do a really good job of running the Wing-T” he said. “They also have great team speed.”
Blackledge expects a big crowd in the stands on Friday night. “We are treating this game just like any other game. For some teams this game would be a Hollywood type atmosphere,” he said. “In Taylorsville, this game is expected to come around every year. Our fans expect to be here, and most of all our players expect to be here.”
According to Blackledge, key factors in the contest will be turnovers and field possession. “The ability to hold on to the football will be crucial Friday night,” he said. “We are also going to have to do a good job of winning the battle of field position.”
Sebastopol at Mt. Olive
It will be a rematch Friday night in Mt. Olive (8-5) when the Bobcats make their way back into town. In the first meeting earlier this season, Sebastopol won 17-12. Mt. Olive got to the South State Championship game by beating Nanih Waiya 10-7 last week, while Sebastopol knocked off Weir 21-20.
Pirate head coach Perry Murphy knows this game is a big deal. “It’s for the South State title,” said Murphy. “The winner of this game moves on to Jackson.”
Murphy has challenged his team to represent Mt. Olive teams of the past. “We have been challenging our kids all week,” he said. “As a former player here at Mt. Olive, and as the current head coach, we remind them how big this game really is for them.”
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