Smith County in rural Southeastern Mississippi is one of the those special places. Smith County is known for many things, it's considered the watermelon capital of Mississippi, and has the distinction of being the last county in the state to be without a stop light. But, for the sports fan in all of us, Smith County is known for great high-school football. Smith County symbolizes small town Americana at it's best, actually it's three small towns enclosed in one county. Mize, Raleigh and Taylorsville have all produced great football players and teams over the past few years with each being steeped in football history.

Mize and Taylorsville will both compete in Region 7 of Class 2A while Raleigh plays in Region 5 of Class 3A. All three teams played each other this past year with Raleigh claiming the Smith County Crown with a 42-0 win over Mize and a narrow 41-36 win at Taylorsville. Taylorsville defeated Mize 36-7 in a key 5-2A match-up late in the season. All three of Smith County's programs made the state play-offs in 2006 and finished with solid records. Raleigh finished the season with a 10-2 record advancing to the second round of the play-offs. Taylorsville saw a fantastic season come to an abrupt end with a shocking first round loss to Hinds AHS. The Tarters finished the season with a 9-2 record. Mize finished 6-6 making the second round of the Class 2A play-offs losing to eventual state champion East Marion.

This year expects to be another exciting year in the County for football. All three programs return talented players but all three programs are looking to overcome losses and make another play-off run.

The Lions return one of the state's most exciting three way players in QB/DB/KR Chris Lofton. Loftin was steady under center running the Lion offense and was a threat with both his arm or his legs. But, where he shined and what has grabbed the attention of college recruiters was his prowess in the secondary where he led Class 3A in interceptions with 12 pics. Loftin also excelled as a return man garnering MAC/MagnoliaPreps.com 2nd Team All-State honors in that capacity. But, the task at hand won't be easy as the Lions look to replace three MAC/MagnoliaPreps.com 1st Team All-State selections in RB James Campbell and linemen Robert Philips and Brannon Luckey.

The Tarters return plenty of athletes, but may have lost one of their biggest assets longtime coach Shannon White resigned from Taylorsville to become the new head man at Class 2A rival North Forrest. Bud Blacklege who guided Class 4A South Jones to a 1-9 record last season has been named to replace White. Prior to his one year stint at South Jones Blackledge was a successful OC at West Jones. Player losses for the Tarters include MAC/MagnoliaPreps.com 1st Team All-State lineman Brandon Blackwell and 2nd Team member Derek Welsh. Last season the Tarters sported a tandem of talented junor tailbacks in Arsenio Autry and Terrance Bester. But, a family tragedy moved Autry from Taylorsville to Mize after the '06 season ended. Second Team All-State LB Kelton Atwood returns to anchor a steady Tarter defense that held six opponents to two or fewer scores last year.

Taylorville's loss is Mize's gain when it comes to talented tailback Arsenio Autry. The 6-foot-0, 208 pounder is a physical back that has the ability to make folks miss and run over opposing tacklers. Coach Kenny Robinson expects to put a senior laden team on the field this year. In addition to Autry, the Bulldogs will be led by senior two way lineman Issac Adcock who garnered MAC/MagnoliaPreps.com 1st Team All-State honors. The Bulldogs also return defensive linemen James and Terrance Keyes who were both named 2nd Team All-State as juniors. One of the biggest losses for the Bulldogs will be MAC/MagnoliaPreps.com 1st Team All-State selection Maurice Ducksworth who did a little bit of everything last season.

In all this expects to be another exciting year for the fans of all three Smith County programs. So weather you're pulling for the Lions, Tarters or Bulldogs, you can't go wrong in Smith County.