Mississippi High School Football Games of the Week — Oct. 18-19

As we fully settle into autumn, Mississippi high school football has another exciting Friday night slate of games on deck for those in the Magnolia State.

Five games feature clashes by ranked teams, including road tests for several top-ranked squads.

The On3 Massey Ratings — which were officially used during the BCS era and have generated college high school sports team rankings since 1995 — rank sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule and margin of victory.

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Below are the Mississippi high school football games of the week.

Top high school football games in Mississippi

No. 1 Tupelo at No. 19 Germantown — Friday, Oct. 18
Tupelo remained undefeated with a win in one of the state’s biggest games of last weekend. The Golden Wave took down No. 3 Madison Central 28-23 in a Friday night thriller. The win over the Jaguars joined a resume that includes victories over Houston (Tenn.), No. 20 West Point and No. 23 Oxford. Germantown has blowout losses to No. 14 Warren Central and No. 4 Starkville this year, but the Mavericks do have a highlight of their own with a season-opening 46-21 win against No. 16 Northwest Rankin. Tupelo beat Germantown 42-3 last year. The On3 Massey Ratings project the Golden Wave to repeat in this year’s edition of the series.

No. 8 Oak Grove at No. 2 Brandon — Friday, Oct. 18
After dropping games in consecutive weeks to No. 10 Hattiesburg and No. 7 Madison-Ridgeland last month, Oak Grove has bounced back with wins against Laurel and No. 25 Meridian — beating the latter 45-30 last weekend. Brandon improved to 6-1 with a 45-10 win over then-No. 24 Petal. The Bulldogs have won three straight since falling to No. 18 Clinton in a 65-62 shootout in September. Oak Grove beat Brandon at home last season, but the On3 Massey Ratings predict a 38-28 Bulldogs win this time around.

No. 4 Starkville at No. 18 Clinton — Friday, Oct. 18
Starkville hammered No. 19 Germantown 42-0 last week to move to 6-1 on the year. The Yellowjackets’ lone loss came on Sept. 20 in an electric 42-41 game against No. 9 Louisville. Starkville will close with a brutal stretch of teams — starting this week with No. 18 Clinton before games against No. 3 Madison Central and No. 1 Tupelo. Clinton has a pair of statement wins this season in victories against No. 14 Warren Central and No. 2 Brandon. The Arrows’ win against Brandon was a high-scoring 65-62 thriller. Starkville beat Clinton 60-21 in 2023. The On3 Massey Ratings project a 40-21 road win for the Yellowjackets this year.

No. 6 Jackson Prep at No. 11 Hartfield Academy — Friday, Oct. 18
No. 6 Jackson Prep is 8-0 after running away from Presbyterian Christian in a 56-10 win last weekend. The Patriots had yet to be tested all season until they went up against West Jones two weeks ago. Jackson passed the test, beating West Jones 42-7. Hartfield is 7-1 on the year, its lone loss coming last week to No. 7 Madison-Ridgeland by a 44-35 score. Hartfield won both matchups with Jackson last year — 30-17 in the regular season and 21-0 in the playoffs. The Hawks are once again projected to win, per the On3 Massey Ratings.

No. 16 Northwest Rankin at No. 25 Meridian — Friday, Oct. 18
Northwest Rankin has played one of the toughest schedules in Mississippi this year, dropping games to No. 14 Warren Central, No. 19 Germantown and No. 3 Madison Central — but picking up wins against No. 19 Clinton, No. 21 Ocean Springs, Brookhaven and Pearl. Meridian lost last week, 45-30 on the road at No. 8 Oak Grove. The Wildcats’ best win was a 20-point victory against Biloxi in early September. Meridian beat Northwest Ranking 38-31 last season and are once again favored this year.