The high school football season begins Friday night for the area’s private schools.
DeSoto will host Strider Academy of Charleston, Miss. at Sam Howe Field.
Marvell Academy will be host to West Memphis Christian at Fletcher Field.
Marianna Lee (AA) will play home to Rossville. All of the games will begin at 7:30 p.m.
DeSoto, MA and Marianna Lee and Tunica Institute of Learning tested one another in the annual jamboree last Friday night at DeSoto.
Coming off its North Mississippi championship and a 13-1 record in 2009 (Desoto won it all in 2008), the Thunderbirds will be trying to maximize the efforts of a team with fewer players than in the past two season.
Desoto Athletic Director Bill Beck sees his offense as a bit ahead of the defense at this point.
The graduation of Bill Tappan and Dean Wilson forces Beck and his staff to make changes in the offensive line and defense.
Over at Marvell, Athletic Director Greg Bigham feels a bit more comfortable starting his second season at the helm.
Bigham also takes on the role as elementary principal under Brad Foster, who will be starting his second year as headmaster.
Foster brought three decades of public school teaching and administrative experience from Clarksdale, Miss. when he came back into education after a stint in the corporate world.
Beck and Bigham agree that District 1A should be wide open with all the teams capable of challenging for the title.
