Last week’s MVP: RB Jaidyn Young (6 carries, 74 yards, and 2 touchdowns)

The Chargers are once again set to take the road as they head east to the blue turf of the Tupelo Golden Wave. The Golden Wave remain unbeaten thus far, sitting at 5-0.  Last week, the Golden Wave claimed their first district win of the season, as they defeated Grenada 20-7. The Chargers also got their first district win of the season, as they traveled to Murrah and won in dominant fashion, 43-8. In last year’s meeting between the Golden Wave and the Chargers, the Chargers took care of business, winning the game 22-6. The Charger victory secured their fourth win in a row over the Golden Wave and they will look to make it five Friday night.

Players to Watch:

Oxford Junior DB Ken Herron: Throughout the game, more than likely, Herron will be lined up against one of Tupelo’s two most talented receivers, KD Gibson and JQ Witherspoon. Both receivers are big time players for the Golden Wave, combining for 585 yards and 4 touchdowns so far this year. Whoever he lines up against Friday night, Herron will have his work cut out for him.

Tupelo Junior QB Jeremiah Harrell: Harrell is heading into his second season as the Golden Wave starting quarterback, and has improved tremendously from a season ago. Tupelo’s pass heavy offense has been on fire with Harrell under center. Through just five games, he’s completed 70 of 105 passes, for 1,032 yards, and has an extremely impressive 13-1 touchdown to interception ratio. Harrell struggled last season against the Chargers, throwing an interception and was held to less than 100 yards passing, so he will be looking for vengeance against a similar Charger defense.

Oxford Junior TE Jack Harper: Harper is once again a player to watch for the Chargers. As one of the top targets for quarterback Mack Howard so far this season, Harper has hauled in 13 receptions for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns. Harper will be crucial for helping in the offensive trenches and breaking open some big plays in the pass game.

Tupelo Junior ILB Tristain Jernigan: Jernigan has emerged this season as a star on the defensive side of the ball for the Golden Wave. Through 5 games, he is the team’s leading tackler with 38 total tackles, 5 being for loss. He is averaging 9.5 tackles per game, and has been a great addition to a position group led by Senior OLB Tyler Vaughn, who led the team in tackles a season ago.

Oxford Senior WR Cashe Shows: Coming off a season where Shows was the top target at receiver for the Chargers, he has recently committed to Northwest Community College to play football. Last week, Shows had 3 receptions for 39 yards and won a jump ball in the back of the endzone to complete a 20-yard touchdown pass to help lead the Chargers to victory. I fully expect Shows to continue to play at a high level this week and as the season continues. 

Tupelo Freshman JaReylan McCoy: Standing at 6’7 250 lbs, Freshman JaReylan McCoy is a unit for the Golden Wave defense. McCoy already has a division one offer from Ole Miss has 16 tackles on the young campaign with 5 being for loss. He will be a huge test for the Chargers in the offensive trenches.

Oxford Senior RB Roman Gregory: To win big games, especially rivalries, you need great performances out of your star players. Gregory has been an absolute problem for every defense he’s faced this season. So far, Roman has a total of 629 total yards and 12 touchdowns. He’s a player who can find the endzone at any time during the ball game and you will see his number be called all night.

X-Factor:

Eliminating Negative Plays: The Golden Wave defense has been special so far this season. Through 5 opponents, they have only allowed 23 total points, and only Corinth has scored more than a touchdown. Another impressive stat, is they have already racked up 43 tackles for loss. Back in week 1 at Brandon, the Chargers continued to have drives that were killed by penalties and negative offensive plays. It has been the only game so far that the Chargers struggled to move the football. So with that being said, a defense as talented at generating negative plays as Tupelo, it will be crucial for the Charger offense to play clean football and be able to move the ball down the field.

Prediction:

Both Oxford and Tupelo are playing some great football right now and both will play Friday night looking to keep their win streaks. Oxford in their last three games have put up an impressive 43 points per game. Tupelo on the other hand has only allowed 23 points all season. With a hot Oxford offense and hot Tupelo defense, we are in for a great football game. The last time the Chargers made the trip to Tupelo in 2019, the Chargers won in a dogfight, 14-3. And like I said earlier, the Chargers have won the last 4 meetings against the Golden Wave. I expect a great game for the Charger offense, and I believe that the Chargers make the win streak five over the Wave as they win in a shootout. 40-38 Chargers.