Oxford travels to Desoto County tonight to take on the Desoto Central Jaguars. The Chargers are coming off of a very impressive 35-21 win over South Panola. Desoto Central fell to Horn Lake last week by a score of 32-3. In last year’s meeting, Oxford defeated Desoto Central 21-7 at Bobby Holcomb Field.

Players to watch:

Oxford QB John Meagher: At this point in the season, it has gone from a great stretch of games to really just becoming a great season so far for Meagher. Desoto Central has proven to be vulnerable to the pass as Horn Lake threw for 120 yards last week, including multiple big plays.

Desoto Central RB Shemaar Stapleton: Stapleton is one of two running backs that you will see prominently tonight. Stapleton is leading the Jags in carries and yards on the season. Oxford’s defense has been a force this year and will provide a tough test for Stapleton and the Jaguars rushing offense.

Oxford RB KJ Wadley: Wadley has been steadily getting better at running back as the season has progressed. He will have an opportunity to have an explosive outing tonight against a rush defense in Desoto Central that just surrendered 125 yards on the ground last week, including a 70 yard touchdown.

Desoto Central RB Josh Booker: Booker is the other running back that you’ll see play an extremely large role for Desoto Central tonight. He’s leading the Jags in touchdowns and has been the more explosive of the two backs so far as he’s averaging just under six yards per carry.

Oxford DL Jammie White: One of the position groups that was expected to have a big year was Oxford’s defensive line, but once the season started people stopped talking about them. Jammie White has been an anchor on what has been a really solid defensive line this season, and I expect him to continue playing well tonight. White had two tackles for loss and seven total tackles last week.

Desoto Central QB Reid Musselwhite: The starting quarterback for the Jags has had a rough go to start the season. Musselwhite is only averaging 35 passing yards per game and has thrown eight interceptions in only 66 passing attempts. He will go up against an Oxford defense that has forced lots of turnovers this season particularly in the secondary.

X Factor: 

Oxford’s Secondary: Oxford is clearly the better football team coming into this game, and if the secondary continues to play well, then Oxford should have their way. The Chargers will have a chance to force turnovers tonight as Desoto Central has coughed it up through the air eight times this year.

Prediction:

Last week, I picked Oxford to lose to South Panola. I was wrong. The Chargers have now won five games in a row and are as hot as they can be. I’m going to disappoint a lot of people with this pick (Hey, Coach Baughman) but I’m rolling with Oxford to win pretty big in this one. Chargers win 31-10 and improve to 6-1.