Every week, Cliff Furr is Talking Ball, Y’all with a new weekly column that’s presented by our partners at Toyota of Brookhaven.

This is a true story.

I was sitting in Smith Hall as a student at Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

The teacher was Jim Lightsey and I think the course was psychology.

Mr. Lightsey was talking about routine and superstitions.

He was explaining how Wesson football had a run of success and each season, when the playoffs came, the community banded together to get a charter bus so that the team could head to the postseason in style.

He explained how the Cobras lost those games and fans started to wonder if the change of not being on a traditional yellow school bus was why Wesson hadn’t won.

A girl sitting beside me had a puzzled look on her face. She raised her hand and Mr. Lightsey called on her.

“When was Wesson ever good enough to go to the playoffs in football,” she asked with a scrunched nose.

Mr. Lightsey smiled at her in his mild way and let out a chuckle.

“Where did you go to high school,” he asked, but before she could answer, he did so for her.

“Loyd Star,” he said, correctly, as she was a Class of 2000 graduate of that school.

One of the best local high school football rivalries will resume on Friday at H.L. “Hook” Stone Stadium on the campus of Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Wesson.

Expect a big crowd to see the Wesson Cobras host the Loyd Star Hornets in a game where both teams are 6-0 overall and the winner will be in the driver’s seat for the Region 7-2A championship, although Amite County (4-1) looms on both their schedules.

Most years these two play each other, but when Wesson drops down to the 2A ranks like it is now, the rivalry gets the kick of being a division game.

Part of what feeds this rivalry is geography, as one can live in certain parts of the Loyd Star attendance zone and find yourself going to church with folks from Wesson. And vice versa, as the kids from both schools know each other well outside of the fields of competition.

This is a rivalry of runs and of late, it’s been the Cobras who’ve been on top.

Wesson has won nine in a row and since the teams don’t play every season, the Hornets haven’t beaten the Cobras since 2009.

So why did that Hornet in my college psychology class seem so cocky about her team versus Wesson?

Well, when she was in school, the Hornets were in the midst of a run atop the Cobras, as Loyd Star won six in a row from 1995-2000.

Wesson broke that streak with a 28-9 win in 2001, but Loyd Star got revenge with a 35-7 win in the third round of the 2A playoffs.

Folks my age still talk about that 1999 matchup, a game won 3-0 by Loyd Star in overtime at Wesson.

And that era that Mr. Lightsey was mentioning in class, that was in the early 1990s, when the Cobras went 9-1 in ’89, 10-2 in ’90, and 11-2 in ’94. Also a period when Wesson won nine straight over Loyd Star.

If the 2025 game ends 3-0, then Loyd Star fans will be happy, as that type of pace would favor the Hornets.

Not to say that Loyd Star can’t score in 2025, but if the Hornets want to break the Wesson winning streak in the series, they’ll need to dictate the tempo of this game.

Loyd Star uses a single wing offense, with the snap often going to junior running back Jordyn Kees. Kees has carried the ball 153 times this season for 1,272 yards and 17 touchdowns.

One reason his workload has been so heavy is the Hornets are missing junior Tristan Fortenberry, the other primary ball carrier in the offense, with an injury.

Kees didn’t play in the game against Wesson last year, won 44-12 by the Cobras in Stone Stadium.

The Hornets are 6-0 and 1-0 in Region 7-2A after beating Wilkinson County 29-18 last week. That game was closer than expected as WC has not won on the field this season.

Wesson and coach Jeremy Loy have been blasting past their competition in 2025. They beat Bogue Chitto 46-8, North Pike 44-15, Franklin County 34-19, Lawrence County 36-7, and Enterprise 48-6. The Cobras were beating Lumberton 7-0 for homecoming when the Panthers decided to go back home due to a long weather delay.

Junior quarterback BP Robbins has settled into his role as a first-year signal caller like a natural. Robbins has thrown for 680 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 113 passing yards per game. He’s also the team’s top rusher with 435 yards and nine rushing scores.

Junior Damarion Smith is another guy who does good things with the ball in his hands for Wesson. Smith has caught 20 passes for four touchdowns while also rushing for another score.

Smith has also returned two kicks for touchdowns, which brings us to a key part of this game, special teams.

Wesson almost exclusively uses an onside kick on kickoffs.

It’s especially effective at home games, played on the turf of Stone Stadium. Wesson blitzes the receiving team with bodies as they look for an awkward bounce that they can pounce on.

The ability to make field goals, get off good punts, field punts cleanly, cover kickoffs, and make extra points can be the deciding factor in small school grudge matches like this.

Loyd Star will want to maintain possession, recover the first onside kick it sees to give itself good field position, and to be clean in all areas of special teams.

Wesson wants to unleash its offense with its vertical passing attack, Snakes On A Plane. The Cobras will also look to overwhelm the Loyd Star blocking scheme at the point of attack by loading up the box with defenders.

It’s a clash of styles, it’s a clash of counties, but most importantly, it’s a clash of kids.

So please, no one who calls themselves an adult should get fighting mad or cussing mad or mad in general about kids playing a kid’s game.

Keep it civil and lets all be proud to know we’ve got two great 2A programs that will draw lots of eyes on Friday night.