By CURTIS ROCKWELL

Item Sports Editor

Wayne County.

When it comes to all of the opponents through all of the years of football that Picayune has faced, one foe stands alone as an obstacle the Maroon Tide has never been able to overcome.

Wayne County.

For the sixth time in school history, and the fourth time in five years, Picayune gets a chance to add the War Eagles to its win column tonight.

Picayune faces off against visiting Wayne County at Maroon Tide Stadium at 7 p.m.

The War Eagles have ended Picayune’s season in the state playoffs three of the last four seasons. Those decisions, combined with a pair of wins back in the mid 1990’s when the teams were in the same district, brings the all time mark to 5-0 in favor of WCHS.

“I don’t think that it’s anything that our players talk about really,” veteran Picayune head coach Dodd Lee said, of the streak. “I know fans talk about it quite a bit, but to us we know it’s a game that we need to win. That’s it.”

Tonight’s game marks just the second time that Wayne County has played in Picayune, with the last game coming in 1994.

The winner of the game gets the second spot in Region 3-5A behind league champ West Jones, while the loser tonight will be the third seed. Brookhaven is the fourth seed.

Also, the winner tonight will get a home playoff game next week while the loser will have to hit the road for the opening round.

Picayune has opened the playoffs at home for six of the past seven seasons.

The Maroon Tide will unleash standout running back Jamal Hall again tonight. Hall, a junior, has run for 1,633 yards and 19 touchdowns this season.

Wayne County may or may not have star quarterback DeMarcus Henderson on the field. He left the game with a knee injury late in a loss to West Jones two weeks ago, and did not play in a win over Pearl River Central last week.

Wayne County head coach Marcus Boyles is in his ninth season at the helm of the War Eagles and has guided WCHS to four state titles in that time.