The Harmony Grove Hornets (6-2; 3-0) got a hard fought victory last Friday night by defeating the Fordyce Redbugs 29-28.
The Hornets are potentially two games away from securing the 3A-6 Conference title, which would be their first since moving to the 3A conference.
This Friday night, the Hornets will play their final home game of the regular season against the Lake Village Beavers (1-5; 0-3).
While this game may look to be a typical best vs. worst conference team matchup, the Hornets are looking to make this game count. Last year's matchup ended with rumors of items going missing from the Hornets' locker room.
The Hornets defeated the Beavers 64-42 in a high scoring matchup. Quarterback Caleb Johnson completed 19-of-26 of his passes for 285 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.
Johnson and the Hornets should have their way with the Beavers' defense for the second consecutive season this evening. The Beavers' defense is allowing an average of 40.7 points per game this year. Lake Village hasn't won a game in the state since their 48-0 win over Dollarway on last season.
The Hornets are averaging 34.1 points per game thanks to their playmaking in the passing and running games. Johnson threw for 131 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 154 yards and two more in the win over Fordyce.
The Beavers faces just as many challenges on offense as they do on defense. Lake Village is only averaging 11.4 points per game, which should give the Hornets' defense the chance to work in new formation and rest injured players for next week's game against Barton on the road.
If the defense's heavy pass rush can create chaos early and often, the Hornets shouldn't have any problems holding the Beavers to a single-digit score.
The Hornets are set to host the Beavers on Friday night at 7 p.m.