By Brad Greer

Week three of the high school football season should prove to be an exciting one as all three local teams take the road tonight. The marquee matchup of the weekend will take place in Memphis as the brand new No. 1 ranked team in the nation, South Panola, clashes with the Memphis University School Owls.

North Panola meanwhile will be looking to chalk up their first victory of the young season by traveling down Hwy. 61 into the heart of the Delta at Rolling Fork where they will square off against the South Delta Bulldogs. The Cougars will be looking for a measure of revenge as South Delta came away with a 22-14 victory last year in Sardis.

After playing their first two games of the season at home, the North Delta Green Wave will load up the bus and head west on Hwy. 6 to take on the Lee Academy Colts beginning at 7:30. Both teams enter tonight’s action sporting 1-1 records as North Delta hammered Tunica 46-24 while Lee drilled Kirk 39-14 in Grenada.

South Panola at MUS: The word spread like wildfire when the polls were released Tuesday that Rivals.com took notice of the 65-35 whipping South Panola put on Colquitt County, Ga. last Saturday and granted the Tigers the No. 1 nod. The Tigers are third in the MaxPreps, USA Today and PrepNation polls, while Calprep ranks the Tigers No. 4 and ESPN No. 6.

While most coaches tell their players not to look ahead to one particular game, no one can say that a lot of the South Panola players are not foaming at the mouths over this clash. It was almost a year to the day when MUS rolled into Robert H. Dunlap Stadium and came away with 21-19 victory over the Tigers. While both teams went on to claim state titles, the Owls bring a 28-game winning streak into tonight’s game.

Even though both teams are loaded with talent, South Panola head coach Lance Pogue said this is a different year.

“Last year is over with. They came down here and beat us, but last year does not effect this season whatsoever. They are a different team and so are we. Our focus is be the best we can be this week and that is our main goal,” said Pogue.

Both teams head into tonight with a pair of blowout wins under their belts as South Panola hammered Petal 38-0 in week one followed by a 65-35 romp over Colquitt County last Saturday.

The Owls meanwhile started off the season with a 28-7 win over Millington Central followed by last Friday’s 42-7 thumping of Kingbury.

  MUS, who ranked No. 2 in Tennessee’s Division II-AA poll behind Brentwood Academy, is led by 6’3”; 175-pound junior quarterback Toby Baker. Through the first two games, Baker has thrown for 354 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for four more scores. Joining Baker in the backfield is sophomore Fernando Van Hook (5’10”; 155) who rushed for 157 yards in two games.

Leading the defense for the Owls is sophomore Ford Howell (6’1”- 210) and senior linebacker Henry Dickinson (6’4”-215). Howell leads the team in tackles with 17 while Dickinson registered a 35-yard interception for a touchdown last week.

The Owl defense will have its hands full trying to stop South Panola’s high-powered offense led by senior  Lee Self at quarterback. Self will have plenty of support behind him as running back Qyen Griffin has run wild on defenses so far this season to the tune of 516 yards and eight touchdowns including a 286-yard, six touchdown performance against Colquitt County.

Directions to MUS: Take I-55 North to Memphis. Get off on the I-240 Exit East. Go to Poplar Avenue/Germantown exit and go east (right). Go to third light and that is Ridgeway Road and take a right. Entrance to the school is on Ridgeway Road or you can take the Poplar Avenue exit. Take a left into the school parking lot and see the stadium. Over 5,000 people are anticipated to attend the game, so overflow parking has been arranged. Park in the office parking lots west of the campus on the south side of Primacy Parkway, across from McDonalds.

North Panola at South Delta: The North Panola Cougars will be in search of win number one of the 2010 season tonight as they take on South Delta of Region 4-3A. The Bulldogs are 1-1 on the year after dropping a 16-6 verdict to Simmons last week. South Delta opened up week one with a 36-20 drubbing of Lexington McClain.

The Cougars will be looking to jump start a stagnant offense that generated only 42 yards in last Friday’s 25-8 loss to Mound Bayou’s JFK. Barrett Loveberry’s 70-yard kickoff return in the first quarter was the lone bright spot for North Panola.

“We had a letdown last week, but I feel like we are back where we need to be as for focusing on this week’s game,“ said first-year head coach Sean Norwood. “We’ve got guys working hard out here and encouraging each other and trying to get that first victory. We were down 11-8 going into the fourth quarter and had a few turnovers that really hurt us. We have got to hang on to the ball for us to win.”

The Bulldogs are lead by sophomore signal-caller Ricky Green, freshmen running back/linebacker Hakeem Johnson and running back Terry Montgomery. Junior defensive back Melvin Young leads the team with 21 tackles.

Direction to Rolling Fork: Take Highway 6 in Batesville to Highway 61 in Clarksdale. Go South about 115 miles past Cleveland. Will get to Anguilla and be about 5 or 6 miles from Rolling Fork. Keep going. When at Rolling Fork, take Highway 14 right and go around the loop. Keep curving left and you will past Double Quick and a dry creek. The high school is on the left and the stadium is behind the school.

North Delta at Clarksdale Lee: After coming off an impressive 46-24 win over Tunica last Friday, the North Delta Green Wave will go on the road for the first time this year against the AAA Colts. Quarterback Bryan ‘B’ Nickle and tailback Tres Brasell combined for 241 yards rushing and four touchdowns as the Wave offense rolled up 399 yards of offense.

While Nickle completed only three passes on the night, two of those went for touchdowns as the senior hooked up with John Cody Dalrymple on a 67-yard bomb in the first quarter then followed that with a 28-yard scoring pass to sophomore Chris Rodgers.

Lee (1-1) picked up its first win of the season over Kirk as tailback Tyler Tackett ran for three scores while quarterback Blake Hester passed for another score. The Colts opened the season with a 28-14 loss to Indianola. This will be Lee’s third straight opponent from District 1-AA. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and not 7:30 as reported earlier.

Directions to Lee: From Hwy 61 North take the Lyon exit. After going about a mile turn right at the Coahoma Electric Company and Hopson Road. Go Through a four way stop and over a railroad track. Keep straight and go through another four way stop. School is on right. From Hwy 61 South. Take the first exit into Clarksdale. At the John Deere place take a left. That will be Hwy 322. Take a right on Lee Drive. Go through four way stop and the school is on the left.