As a Class 5A top ten ranked team in Mississippi, according to the Sun Herald, Pearl River Central High School Blue Devils feel they have more to prove as they prepare to travel to Slidell, La. and take on the Tigers this Friday.

For the first time this season the Pearl River Central Blue Devils accomplished a feat they have not done this year, win a game with a margin of victory of more than a touchdown. Coming off a bye week, PRC showed that the extra week of preparation paid off in their 47-21 victory over the formerly undefeated Harrison Central Red Rebels.

“We hit a groove last week and had our best overall performance as a team. We executed better than we have in the past and the guys are starting to understand all the schemes offensively and defensively,” Larry Dolan, PRC head football coach, said.

Last week, Devils backup running back Diante Lenoir stole the show as he stepped on the offensive side of the ball for the first time this season, scoring four touchdowns on just seven touches for his team. Lenoir raked in four catches for 135 yards and three carries for 54 yards.

“He is a great athlete and what he did against Harrison Central was incredible,” Dolan said. “He does a lot for our team and his versatility is something any coach would enjoy having.”

Because of a lack of depth in PRC’s defensive secondary, Lenoir started on defense the first couple of games this season and will continue that trend despite his amazing offensive outing last week, Dolan said. In that game he also had a momentum swinging interception on Harrison Central’s first drive.

Throughout the season, Blue Devils quarterback Wyatt Davis has developed a better understanding of the new offensive schemes that Dolan brought to the team in his first year at PRC, progressing his stats from throwing 80 yards and one touchdown in his first game against Forrest County Agricultural High School to throwing for 277 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s game.

“He is a smart player and has picked up this difficult system quickly,” Dolan said. “My confidence in him has been there all year. I knew it would take time for all the players to adjust to the new offense and all their hard work is starting to show on the field.”

Davis has also completed 70 percent of his passes throughout the first three games of the season.

Slidell High School’s quarterback, Larry Griffin, has been the workhorse of their offense so far this season, averaging almost 300 passing yards per game. The Slidell Tigers lean heavily on their passing game to score as they have five passing touchdowns and only one rushing touchdown, which was scored by Griffin, so far this season. Although their record is 0-2, Dolan refuses to take them lightly.

“They played two really good Mississippi teams so far. They are a good team with tall receivers that can change a game at any moment,” Dolan said. “We got to come into this game knowing it will be a tough battle.”

The Blue Devils travel to Slidell on Friday with hopes of winning two consecutive games. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.