JACKSON — As the defending MAIS eight-man division champion, Tallulah Academy knew it would be taking everyone’s best shot this season. The tougher thing to deal with was what seems like the inevitability of another state championship.

The Trojans reached the eight-man championship game for the third straight year by beating 10 of their 11 opponents so far by at least 12 points each. There’s one to go, Franklin Academy (8-4), which they’ll deal with Friday at 10 a.m. at Mississippi College in Clinton.

Tallulah is a heavy favorite, which its players said is the hardest thing of all to live up to.

“It’s a long road,” senior running back Ryan Hodge said. “It’s the expectations that’s got to be the hardest part.”

Senior tight end Brice Wood picked up the thought, adding, “It seems like there’s always a lot of hype around our games. You just have to go out and ignore it.”

There’s no ignoring what Tallulah has accomplished in the three seasons since it moved from the 11-man ranks to the eight-man division. It has won 25 of 28 games and reached the championship game all three years. After losing to Sharkey-Issaquena in the title game in 2014, it beat Christian Collegiate last year.

This season has sometimes felt like a victory lap for the Trojans and their 13 seniors, even if they’ve pushed hard to go out with another state title. Only one game — a 22-20 victory over Park Place on Oct. 14 — has been close. That was also one of only two games in which they failed to score at least 40 points.

They’ve scored 50 or more five times, including in last week’s semifinal win over Christian Collegiate.

“We’ve had our ups and downs all season,” said Hodge, who has rushed for 2,360 yards and 45 touchdowns this season, and has 105 rushing touchdowns in his high school career. “We started high, had a speed bump, and played well the last three games.”

The playoffs have been a bit of deja vü for the Trojans. Franklin Academy will be the third consecutive opponent they faced in both the regular and postseason. Tallulah won 44-32 when the teams played in the regular-season finale Oct. 28.

That was Franklin’s only loss in its last nine games. The Cougars have overcome an 0-3 start to reach the championship game for the second time in four seasons. They’ve been led by quarterback Wesley Cirillo, who has rushed for nearly 2,500 yards and 37 touchdowns while throwing for more than 900 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Although his team lost in its first encounter with Tallulah, Franklin coach Chris Sullivan said he thinks his team’s run-oriented ball control offense is the right formula to knock off the reigning champs.

“You can’t have a 20-possession game, 10 for each team, and win,” Sullivan said. “The teams that have played them well have kept that to 12 to 14 possessions. You have to have sustained drives. We have that kind of offense to do that.”

In the regular season matchup, Tallulah got out to a 32-point lead early in the second half before Franklin made a run to make the score more respectable. The Trojans were confident, not cocky, as the two teams prepared to meet again with everything on the line.

They know they can win. They know they are expected to win. They also know they have to go out and do the necessary things to win.

“Of all the teams in eight-man, only two are here,” Hodge said. “It’s one thing to say you’re about to go back-to-back, but it’s another thing to do it.”

TALLULAH ACADEMY VS. FRANKLIN ACADEMY
MAIS 8-man championsip
Friday, 10 a.m., at Miss. College
Online: For live updates, follow us at twitter.com/vixpostsports and facebook.com/thevicksburgpost. The game will also be streamed live online at RaiderNetwork.org