By CURTIS ROCKWELL

Item Sports Editor

A pair of top five ranked teams will square off Friday in one of the biggest prep games in the state this week.

Fifth ranked Picayune travels to Soso to face top-ranked and unbeaten West Jones in a key Region 3-5A clash.

The Mustangs, coming off a big win over then second ranked Wayne County, can clinch the league championship with a win over the Maroon Tide. West Jones is 8-0 overall and, like Picayune, 5-0 in league play.

The Maroon Tide has won sixth straight games and is 6-2 overall.

West Jones has played for the South State title five times in the past eight years under head coach Scott Pierson, but the Mustangs are still looking for their first trip to the state championship game.

After Friday’s game, Picayune returns home to host Wayne County, a team the Maroon Tide has never beaten.

What the games over the next nine days will result in is seeding for the playoffs and to determine who will host first round games and who will travel in the opening round since West Jones, Picayune and WCHS all have locked up the top three playoff berths in the league.

The fourth spot is still up for grabs between Brookhaven and McComb, which meet next week.

Region 3-5A meets Region 4-5A in the first round of the playoffs,

Currently Moss Point is in first place in that league, with Gautier holding down second and D’Iberville third.