Northwest Rankin hopes for better finish to season than last year's 7-5 mark
Toby Collums, in his first year on the job, had Northwest Rankin competing hard in Class 6A, Region 2, one of the toughest divisions in the state of Mississippi.
Collums had his Cougars off to a 4-0 start before dropping a heartbreaker to Brandon and their first division game against Warren Central. He finds his team in the same scenario this year but is hoping it can change its fortune from a 7-5 season a year ago to the playoffs in 2016.
“We start off with Warren Central and Starkville – two physical football teams,” Collums said. “We're more mature and well-rounded when it comes to offense, defense and special teams. We played really good football in the first part just had some unlucky breaks the last two weeks.”
This year Northwest Rankin (4-2) has much more confidence. They lost the last two games against top 10 opponents in the state with an overtime loss to Brandon and another close loss at Warren Central by identical 28-21 scores. Instead of hanging their heads, the Cougars come back home feeling like this week's game against Starkville
can be a turning point.
“After the Brandon game, our team did a great job responding,” Collums said. “We had a chance to win both games so our players know they're close. With a very tough schedule, we need to create turnovers and protect the ball and we didn't do that. That's something that we have to clean up this week.”
If the Cougars are to succeed in knocking off the Yellowjackets, it's probably going to be because their quarterback Braden Smith was the difference. Smith is a veteran at the signal caller position completing 67 percent of his passes this year for 908 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions.
On the ground, his 436 yards and three touchdowns have blended well with junior running back Cameron Carroll, who has rushed for 700 yards in six games and seven touchdowns.
Collums is very high on his veteran signal caller and expects him to be the difference on Friday night.
“Anybody that watches us play, you'll see that our quarterback is a special player,” Collums said. “He a three-year starter and had two years in our system. He feels very comfortable
within our scheme.”
Starkville coach Ricky Woods has seen some of the same when watching the Cougars work on film and saw it last year when the young team came to Starkville. Now that team isn't so young anymore and Woods is dealing with a program that has been through the trials.
“They're a senior team," Woods said. "They've been playing together since they were sophomores and you can tell it. They've got a great quarterback and a really good running back. I think the key to their success is the quarterback and running back. You've got to stop them and that's hard to do. It should be a great game - that's all I know.”
There are no breaks for either Starkville of Northwest Rankin moving forward. This is the third-straight week that Collums has seen a top 10 team and he hopes his team will be ready for the challenge. One bad step the rest of the way could be the difference in making the playoffs or sitting at home.
“I think the four teams that come out will have an opportunity and could very easily play for a state championship," Collums said of Region 2. "That's how good this region is.
"There will be two good football teams left out. It's a tough region, but as a coach, you like that challenge because you're going to play good teams week in and week out.”