The Oxford Chargers will play as host in the first football game of the upcoming season as the Desoto Central Jaguars will come to town for a fall jamboree. The Chargers are coming off a 8-5 season, where they came short of a state championship appearance for the first time since 2018. They fell in the 2nd round of the 6A state playoffs to Madison Central with a score of 31-21. The Jaguars are coming off a 6-6 2021 campaign in which they also fell to Madison Central in the 6A playoffs in the first round. The last meeting between the two, in 2018, had Oxford take a blowout win by a score of 51-6 over Desoto Central.

Players to Watch:

Oxford Senior QB Mack Howard: Howard, a 3-star quarterback, Utah commit, and a member of the 2022 Clarion Ledger Dandy Dozen, transferred into Oxford High School for the upcoming season after spending the previous season at Heritage Academy. The senior quarterback had a very successful season a year ago, leading his team to a MAIS Class 5A state championship. Howard had 3,475 passing yards and 47 passing touchdowns in 13 games last season. Howard’s leadership and level of play will have a major impact on the upcoming season for the Chargers.

Desoto Central Senior QB Andrew Moore: Moore is heading into his second season as the full-time starting quarterback for Jaguars. Moore had 1,696 passing yards, 14 passing touchdowns, and 10 interceptions last season. It is no question that Moore was a great quarterback but struggled a bit with interceptions a year ago. This should be a statement game for Moore in order for him to show his improvement in the passing game. Look for the Jaguars to put the ball in the hands of their senior quarterback and let him go to work.

Oxford Senior HB Roman Gregory: A very familiar face is back this season in the backfield for the Chargers as Gregory returns for his third year taking varsity snaps for the Charger offense. Gregory had a fantastic season for the Chargers a year ago as he led the Chargers on the ground game, where he had 6 games last season each with over 100 rushing yards. Gregory had 178 carries for 1,072 yards and 14 touchdowns, and he will be a defensive nightmare for the Charger opponents all season long.

Desoto Central Junior LB Taurean Davis: Davis is coming off a season where he led the team in tackles and was the star of an impressive Jaguar defensive unit as a Sophomore. Davis had 147 total tackles, 13 TFL and 2 interceptions. He will definitely be a force to be reckoned with for the Chargers and for the rest of the Jaguars opponents in the 2022 campaign. 

X Factor:

Oxford’s Offensive Line: The 2021 season was led by a veteran group in the offensive trenches. After losing many starting senior offensive linemen, the Chargers will be forced to throw many underclassmen into starting roles for the upcoming season, such as Sophomores Carter Kirk and Gray McGown.​​  The Chargers will also return a few guys on the Offensive Line such as Senior Henry Green (coming off an ACL tear from a season ago), Senior Jamael Johnson, and Junior Nelson Barr. These guys will have to be leaders for this limited group who lack depth unlike other position groups for the Chargers. Despite other position groups for the Chargers, the offensive line is a massive question mark for this team and could very possibly determine how this game plays out. This X-Factor is not only for the Jamboree but likely for the rest of the season.

Prediction:

The Chargers are once again being slept on as the 2022 preseason rankings and predictions roll in. Mississippi Maxpreps preseason rankings has the Chargers ranked at #27 in the state, which in my opinion is just flat out wrong. With all the talk around the state about the Chargers, I think it lights a fire underneath them as the Chargers come into this game. The Chargers will be looking to prove everyone wrong all season long. So for that reason, I’m going with the Chargers to win their first game of the 2022 season, even with the shortened game length. 23-6, Chargers.