Madison Central, Velma Jackson nearing title games
Madison Central and Velma Jackson are one win away from playing for the state title, with extremely important semifinal matchups looming this week.
For Madison Central, the Jaguars will face a tall task with a road game against region rival and one of the state’s top teams in Tupelo in order to reach the program’s first state title game since 2021.
When Madison Central and Tupelo met in the regular season, Tupelo came away with a 28-23 win that came down to the wire and ended up earning Tupelo the region title over second-place Madison Central. In that matchup, the Jaguars were only able to find any consistency offensively on the ground.
Senior running back Glen Singleton had a huge game in the regular season matchup between the two teams, rushing for 172 yards and a touchdown on the night and will need to have another big performance on Friday night if the Jaguars want to come away with a win.
The Madison Central defense also put together a big performance in the first matchup between the two teams, forcing two turnovers and holding one of the state’s most dynamic offenses to 28 points.
If Madison Central wants to come away with the win in this one, they will need to control time of possession and find consistent gains in the run game and lean on the defense that has been great for them all season long. They will also need big games from their stars like Singleton, Florida commitment Micah Jones, and quarterback Jaiden Johnson.
Velma Jackson will look to get back into the 1A state championship game for the second year in a row and continue their quest for redemption after last year’s title game loss and for the school’s first football championship in history.
The Falcons will host undefeated Simmons for their semifinal matchup, in what will be the third ever matchup between the two teams. The winner will play the winner of Baldwyn-West Lowndes for the 1A state title next week.
Velma Jackson is led by the 1A Mr. Football winner and Mississippi State commitment Tyshun Willis. Willis has had a massive season to this point compiling over 1,000 total yards and just under 20 total touchdowns offensively on the season, while totaling 40 tackles for loss on the season defensively.
The Falcons will need to lean on Willis, but other players will need to step up as well, including sophomore quarterback Trevon Willis offensively, who has totaled over 2,000 total yards on the season, and freshman defensive lineman Amos Varnado, who has dominated on the interior this season, totalling 18 tackles for loss.
Simmons has been one of the more dynamic offenses in all of 1A this season, scoring 30 points or more in every game this season except for one, which could definitely present a challenge for the Velma Jackson defense.
If the Falcons can get Willis going early on offense and lean on their defense that has been solid all season long, then they should be able to find themselves playing for a state title next week.