RIDGELAND TITANS

Class 4-A, Region 3

2007 Results: 10-1 overall, 7-0 district - lost in first round of the playoffs to Kosciusko

Key Losses: B.J. Lee (SMU signee, rushed for over 4,000 yards and 40 TD's in high school career), LB Trevor Stigers (Miss. State signee)

Head Coach: Kenny Burton (entering 6th season)

Ridgeland Offense: B.J. Lee was a playmaker in the truest sense for the Titans the past three seasons. He'll make an impact at SMU and now Ridgeland must find guys on offense to make an impact. They do return versatile Jeff Johnson at QB.  He was the starter under center last season. Taking over the bulk of the backfield duties will be Jamal Bass. Bass brings a more bruising running style, a stark contrast to the open-field athleticism displayed by the 5'5" Lee. If Ridgeland can limit the mistakes of a young group, they will have the athletes to make plays and put up plenty of points.

Ridgeland Defense: If you think the offense has holes to fill, the defense must replace nine starters. Luckily one of the guys coming back is linebacker Undra Ward. The college prospect is one of those guys that looks the part in pads and plays the part on the field. He'll be helped up front by lineman Malcolm Williams. Those two must be the leaders of an inexperienced group.

Ridgeland Notable Games: Coach Burton jokes that since his program is still very young, they have no real rivals. Velma Jackson is always a good out of district county contest, while Canton is a good in district county rival.

Coach's Key To Victory: The Titans officially put their program on the map last year with a district championship and an undefeated regular season. However the disappointment of another first round loss in the playoffs leaves the team and its coach with a bad taste. Although the likes of Lee and Stigers have moved on to the Division I level, Coach Burton thinks this is his most athletic team to date. With the combination of talent and youth, Burton says they are good enough to win every game but bad enough to lose every game as well.

Ridgeland Schedule

Aug. 29             Mendenhall                         Away

Sept. 5             Velma Jackson                  Away

Sept. 12           Neshoba Central               Home

Sept. 19           Canton*                             Home

Sept. 26           Lanier*                               Home

Oct. 3               Pearl*                                  Away

Oct. 10            Callaway*                           Home

Oct. 17            Yazoo County*                   Away

Oct. 24            Yazoo City*                        Home

Oct. 31            Vicksburg*                         Away

*denotes district game