By Angie Ledbetter

Week six of the high school football season is lining up to be a very exciting one for all three schools tonight. The biggest matchup will be in Olive Branch where the No. 1 ranked team in the nation will clash with their biggest rival of the season, the Conquistadors.

North Delta ranked No. 5 in class AA this week will be out of conference play as they take to the road for a trip to Marvell, Ark., looking to continue their winning streak.

However another big matchup about 10 miles north will be taking place as an undefeated Lafayette County team arrives in Sardis. Winless North Panola has faith they can win and are looking forward to being under dogs tonight.

South Panola

An estimated 15,000 fans are expected to watch the clash of one of the greatest all time rivalries in Mississippi high school football history tonight at Leslie Pool Field in Olive Branch at 7 p.m.

The No. 1 team in the nation by Rivals.com South Panola Tigers will be looking for another signature win against an Olive Branch team who is ranked 12th in the state and 553 nationally.

This week the Tigers are ranked No. 2 by USA Today and Max Preps.

Looking at all those ranking on paper does not mean the Tigers are overlooking the Conquistadors. Owning the series 25-9 the Tigers still look to get the ‘Dors’ best shot just like the previous years, according to Tiger head coach Lance Pogue.

The Conquistadors have a 2-3 overall record and 0-1 district.

“They’ve struggled some to their standards but they’re dangerous,” Pogue said. “They lost one to Brentwood that got out of hand. They could’ve beaten the team in Florida and had every chance in the world to beat Southaven. They look good and if you didn’t know the stories and standings, you’d think they’re undefeated by looking at them.”

Pogue likened the ‘Dors to a wounded animal.

“They’re going to fight us hard which they always do at their place,” he said. “It’s always been a hostile environment up there and I anticipate an early enthusiastic packed crowd. We’ve got to be ready to play. Everybody is gunning for us and they’ll be no exception.”

According to Pogue, the reason the Conquistadors are struggling is football is a crazy game.

“They lost a game last Friday night that was 10-7 with three minutes left in the game and then it ended up 20-17 final. The ball bounced crazy.”

As far as keeping the team from overlooking each opponent, Pogue said the team knows the battles they’ve had with them in the past.

“Some of their games have gone to the wire. We respect them and know they’ll be ready to play but our focus is for us to be the best we can be.”

According to Pogue, the Conquistadors have good players all the way across the board.

“At some time they’re going to come out of their struggles but hope it doesn’t happen against us.”

Olive Branch is quarterbacked by No. 12 Todd Mays, a 6-1/200 junior.

“He’ll be one of the guys next year that’ll be highly recruited,” Pogue said. “He can run and throw the ball and is a dangerous athlete.”

Senior running back is Courtney Gladney, 6’0”/200, is another key player who Pogue describes as a “quality player.”

The Conquistadors have given up 110 points in five games.

“They’ve been hot and cold. They’ve played good some and then they have some let ups but again I’m expecting them to be at their best.”

North Delta

After coming off a huge win over Marshall Academy, North Delta Green Wave will take to the road into the Arkansas delta where they’ll take on a non-conference Marvell team that has a 3-3 overall record and 0-2 division.

The Eagles opened the season defeating West Memphis 58-6, Bayou Academy 30-22 and Strider Academy 57-6. Their first loss came on September 9 when Augusta shut them out 49-0. The following week, they lost to neighboring team Desoto 21-12. Last week Tunica Institute defeated them 27-8.

The Green Wave are showcasing a 4-1 overall record and in the driver’s seat in their division with a 2-0 record.

Green Wave head coach Dan Werner said they had been waiting about a year for last week’s victory.

“It was a total team effort. Our defense really stepped up and played great last week. That one touchdown was huge and we drove the ball well. We ran the ball well and tackled when we had to.”

Werner likes the way the team has played the last two week.

“We played really well both second halves,” he said. “When we came in with a 12-10 halftime lead, I told them we were exactly where we wanted to be and we shut them out in the second half.”

As far as being ranked, Werner said he doesn’t really look at that.

“Our big thing now is that we know we’re in the driver’s seat for the district championship so we just need to take care of our business and see what happens at the end of the year.”

Werner said, “Our motto is we don’t care who we  areplaying from now on, we just want to get better each week. This is the first week of it and we’re going to work hard in practice to get ourselves better on the little things we didn’t do right previously. We’re playing good obviously so if we clean up those things, we’re going to be a real good football team.”

Werner said everyone is healthy but a few are sore. “Everybody should play in the game tonight.”

Marvell played Desoto, one of the top ranked teams in 1A, to a 21-12 final.

“So it’s not like they’re a bad football team by any stretch,” Werner said. “They play good defense and run the ball hard so they can easily shorten the game by running it.

“I told my guys that if we go out there and fool around, before you know it, it’s 7-7 or something at halftime,” he added. “Then obviously you have a fire burning. We need to make sure that we’re doing what we’re supposed to do right and good things will happen not only this game but the rest of the season.”

Kickoff at Marvell is 7:30 p.m.

North Panola

The North Panola Cougars are hungry for a win and looking at an undefeated 6-0 team as the No. 7 Lafayette Commodores parade in town tonight in their red, white and gold hoping to continue their winning streak.

The Commodores, 4A state runner up from 2009, have outscored their opponents 226-72 in six games.

“The guys’ spirits are really good,” said Cougar head coach Sean Norwood. “I’ve heard them make positive comments about them having fun in practice now. It’s still more like a team. It’s real easy to pull apart when you’re 0-5. We’re going to do our best to keep looking up as much as possible.”

Everyone has been coming to practice this week and working hard, Norwood said.

“That was one thing I was afraid of after a tough loss like that. I believe we’re going to be okay.

“For Lafayette it’s a night off for them pretty much but that’s when you get beat,” Norwood said.

The Commodores will be under the leadership of No. 1 quarterback Jeremy Liggins a 6’3”/235 junior. Another star player on the offense is No. 5 running back Demarkus Dennis, a 5’9”/205 junior.

The two combined for seven touchdowns last week smashing Byhalia 52-0 in Region 2-4A contest. Dennis rushed for 187 yards and four touchdowns.

“Their quarterback is an exceptional athlete with nice size, he’s quick and has a decent arm. I think if he goes, the offense goes. The running back is good also.”

Norwood said, “We have to put a hand on the quarterback every chance we get. The film I’ve seen on him, he’s not afraid of anything, linebackers, defensive lineman or any of that. I don’t think he has ever had what our quarterback took last Friday night.”

Cougar quarterback Martavious Butler suffered a concussion last Friday and is doubtful for tonight’s game.

“I’ve heard some kids say that if they could beat Lafayette it would shake up a lot of things. One positive thing I like about being in 4A, you can win maybe two or three division games and still get it.”

The (MHSAA) Mississippi High School Activities Association has announced public school ballgames will now begin at 7 p.m.

“We observe the later starting time during our early games because of the heat at the recommendation of our sports medicine advisory committee,” said executive director Ennis Proctor in a news release.