By CURTIS ROCKWELL

Item Sports Editor

Local football fans are in store for a big weekend of action, as both Picayune and Pearl River Community College face big games over the next two days.

The Maroon Tide gets the action started tonight at home, as Forest Hill of Jackson visits to open the Class 4A South State playoffs. Kick off is set for 7 p.m., in the first ever meeting between the two teams.

“I think the guys have reacted pretty well,” veteran Picayune head coach Dodd Lee said, of the Tide this week after his team fell to D’Iberville last Friday. It was the first league loss for Picayune in over two years.

“It wasn’t a lack of effort, the kids played hard,” Lee added. “We are a pretty good team when all 11 guys play hard on every play. But when we don’t get all 11 playing together, we aren’t very good and we learned that last week.”

Picayune sohphomore standout tailback Jamal Hall surpassed the 1,000 yard mark against the Warriors last week and has almost 1,110 yards rushing on the season.

The winner of the Picayune-FHHS game meets the survivor of the Wayne County-Forrest County AHS game next week.

Meanwhile, on Saturday afternoon, PRCC goes for its fifth state championship in the last six seasons as the Wildcats head to perkinston to face the defending state and national champion Gulf Coast Bulldogs.

Not only is the state title on the line, but a trip to the first ever Mississippi Bowl next month in Biloxi is on the line as well.

Kickoff is set for 2 p.m., at AL. May Stadium on the MGC campus.