ND to tangle with Eagles at homecoming

By Angie Ledbetter

The North Delta Green Wave will finish their 2007 homecoming activities tonight when they crown the new homecoming queen at halftime.

Waiting in line for that title will be senior maids Melanie Gaters, Austin Jenkins, Lacy White and Rachel Edlin.

Though exciting, that may not be the biggest excitement of the night. The Marvell Eagles are coming to town to try and spoil the Green Wave’s homecoming night, but the Green Wave is looking for another district win.

The team of 28 players from Marvell, Ark. will be looking for a long time win that goes back earlier than 2003. Marvell is hoping to steal a win as it fields one of its best teams in years.

The roster includes six seniors, eight juniors, four sophomores and 10 freshman.

This is one of the best  and improved teams that the Green Wave will see for a while, according to Green Wave head coach Richard Russo.

In 2003, the Green Wave defeated the Eagles 27-20, the closest game between these two teams in five years. In 2004, the Green Wave defeated them 36-6, in 2005 the Green Wave won 53-20, and in 2006 the Green Wave won 37-16.

The quarterback for the Eagles will be No. 11 junior Clay Dubach. Other key players are No. 21 tailback Grant Ligon and No. 1 tailback Jeffrey Cothren.

This is the third generation of Ligons who the Green Wave will see. Every one of them have been great ball players and this one, Grant, is no different. The past Ligons were very quick. The Green Wave will watch him tonight.

The Eagles have outscored their opponents 159 to 103. In district action, they beat West Memphis 26-13, Delta 26-17, and lost to Desoto 18-12.

The Green Wave put themselves in a must-win situation in the district by losing to Delta Academy last week 23-13. North Delta needs this win to remain in second place in the district.

North Delta and Marvell are tied 2-1 in the district.

DeSoto, Ark. is in first place in the district with a record of 3-1, followed by North Delta and Marvell. Delta is fourth with a record of 2-2. Tunica has a 1-2 record and West Memphis is in last place with a 0-3 record.

Tonight’s other district action includes a game between Delta and Tunica. This is Delta’s last district game for the year. The worst district record Delta could have is 3-2.

DeSoto will play West Memphis on October 19 for its last district game of the season. DeSoto could end  with 4-1 district record.

After tonight Marvell will play Tunica on October 19. North Delta will play West Memphis on October 26 for its last district game of the season and could end their season with a record of 4-1 with these two wins.

These two wins would assure the Green Wave the district title because they are the only team who has defeated DeSoto.

The best Tunica could end the season is a 3-2 record if they win tonight and beat Marvell October 19. West Memphis has to play DeSoto next week and North Delta October 26 to end the season.

As of now, Desoto, Marvell and North Delta are competing for the district’s top two spots for the playoffs, but it is still early and a lot of district action left.

Russo said Marvell is like Tunica.

“They are one of the most improved teams in 1A football this season,” he said. “They are a lot more physical than they were last year and their overall team speed has improved.“

The Green Wave offense will be looking at a Marvell  4-4 on defense.

“Offensively, they run the same plays out of many different formations,” Russo said. “They also run a few unusual formations.”

The presentation of the maids will be at 10:30 this morning in the school gym. A pep rally will follow and school will be dismissed at 11:45.

Pregame will be at 7 p.m. on FM 106.9 with Russo and Mickey Aldridge. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. The 2007 homecoming queen will be crowned at halftime. Tune in for game highlights on the Farm Bureau Mississippi High School Scoreboard Show starting at 10 p.m. on FM 105.5.