Ripley brings a 1-0 record and one of the most explosive performances of opening weekend. Grenada brings a proven backfield, a new coach and the expectations built by consecutive trips to the Class 6A final.
Game: Grenada (0-0) at Ripley (1-0) Kickoff: Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, 7 p.m. Site: Tiger Stadium, Ripley Classification: Grenada Class 6A; Ripley Class 4A Mississippi Football Power Index: Grenada No. 54 overall; Ripley No. 92 overall
RIPLEY — There is no old score to avenge and no series streak to protect when Grenada visits Ripley on Friday night.
The first meeting between the Tigers and Chargers arrives with a compelling contrast: Ripley has a game in its legs and a sophomore coming off a five-touchdown performance, while Grenada opens its season with a new head coach and the weight of one of Mississippi’s strongest recent Class 6A résumés.
The latest Mississippi Football Power Index gives Grenada the statistical edge entering the matchup. The Chargers are ranked No. 54 overall in Mississippi with a 64.0 MFPI, while Ripley enters No. 92 overall with a 54.9 MFPI.
Ripley beat Mooreville 34-23 last Friday. Grenada had an open date. That gives the Tigers current film, confidence and a feel for game speed. It gives the Chargers an extra week of preparation — but no live evidence yet of how a young lineup will respond when the scoreboard counts.
McDonald’s opening statement
Ripley supplied the most arresting number in this matchup: Kyran McDonald rushed for 211 yards and four touchdowns on only 14 carries against Mooreville. The sophomore averaged better than 15 yards per attempt. He also returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown, giving him five scores in the opener.
The Tigers did not rely on one runner alone. Aking Richard added 47 yards, and Trace James contributed 44. Ripley finished with 317 rushing yards and 397 total yards, ran 61 plays and held the ball for 30 minutes, 29 seconds.
That is a workable formula against a larger-classification opponent.
Stay ahead of the chains. Keep the clock moving. Limit Grenada’s possessions. Make the Chargers’ proven runners watch from the sideline.
There is an obvious counter for Grenada: crowd the line and force Ripley to win through the air. Quarterback Skylar Barkley completed 9 of 18 passes for 80 yards against Mooreville but threw two interceptions. The Tigers do not need to become pass-heavy, but they will need enough efficient early-down completions to prevent Grenada from selling out against McDonald.
The 34-point opener also represented a meaningful step for Ripley’s offense. It matched the Tigers’ highest scoring output in any game during a 3-7 season in 2025. Ripley averaged only 15.4 points last fall and scored seven or fewer in four of its losses.
Coach Rico McDonald, now in his second season, understands the program’s running-back tradition personally. A Ripley alumnus and former All-State back, he rushed for a school-record 1,900 yards as a senior before helping Delta State win the 2000 NCAA Division II national championship.
Kyran McDonald’s opening performance gave the Tigers exactly the kind of identity-building result a coach can build around.
The warning inside a win
Mooreville also showed why Ripley cannot treat Week 1 as a finished product.
Troopers running back Kason Mathis gained 235 yards and scored twice on 14 carries. Ripley won despite allowing one opposing runner nearly 17 yards per attempt.
Now the Tigers face a backfield constructed to probe the same weakness.
Grenada senior Malik Taylor rushed for 1,052 yards and 14 touchdowns on 141 carries last season. Junior Christian Ewing added 524 yards and seven scores on 76 attempts. Together, they produced 1,576 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns while averaging more than seven yards per carry.
Taylor can carry the central workload; Ewing is far more than a change-of-pace option.
Their matchup with Ripley’s run defense is the hinge of the game. The Tigers must improve their fits, set the edge and tackle before either back builds momentum.
Grenada will want to learn quickly whether Mooreville revealed a lasting weakness or merely hit several explosive plays in a game Ripley otherwise controlled.
Oakley begins a new era
Brooks Oakley makes his Grenada debut after four seasons at South Panola, where he went 35-12. Before that, Oakley led his alma mater, Senatobia, to the 2021 Class 4A championship game.
He replaces Michael Fair, who left Grenada for South Panola after guiding the Chargers through the most successful stretch in program history.
The recent standard is formidable.
Grenada reached the Class 6A championship game in 2023, then returned in 2024 and beat previously undefeated Hattiesburg 43-14 to claim the school’s first state football title.
The Chargers finished 7-4 in 2025 while averaging 34.2 points and allowing 19.2. Three losses came by seven points or fewer, including a 35-28 first-round playoff defeat at Ridgeland.
Yet this is not simply the championship roster under a different voice.
Oakley said in the preseason that Grenada returned only three starters on offense and three on defense. That creates uncertainty at the very moment the Chargers are installing a new system.
Wide receiver and quarterback Braylon Hardiman is expected to take a larger offensive role. Khameron “Kam” Washington provides a building block on the line. On defense, end D.J. Dollison is the leading returning tackler after making 37 stops, with linebacker Layne Gillon and defensive back Corday Singleton among the other experienced pieces.
Grenada’s open week gave that young group more installation time. Ripley now gets the chance to test it before the Chargers develop routine and cohesion.
Grenada sits No. 54 statewide with a 64.0 Mississippi Football Power Index rating despite not having played a game yet. Ripley’s opening victory places the Tigers No. 92 overall with a 54.9 rating.
The Mississippi Football Power Index ranks MHSAA teams using results, opponent-adjusted margin, strength of schedule, recent form and other performance measures.
For Ripley, Friday represents an immediate opportunity to make a major move. A victory over a Class 6A opponent with Grenada’s recent résumé would give the Tigers one of the state’s most noteworthy early-season results.
What decides the first meeting
For Grenada, the shortest path to control is also the most obvious: test Ripley repeatedly between the tackles and on the perimeter, make the Tigers prove last week’s rushing yardage allowed was an outlier, and force Barkley into predictable passing situations.
Ripley’s path is built around discipline.
The Tigers need Kyran McDonald to remain explosive without becoming their only answer. They must protect the football better than they did against Mooreville. Most of all, they have to turn Grenada’s five- and six-yard runs into two- and three-yard gains.
A low-possession game favors the home team’s upset chance.
A game filled with missed tackles and extra Grenada possessions does not.
Grenada owns the stronger recent résumé and the deeper collection of proven runners. Ripley owns home field, a week of live evidence and the most explosive individual performance either side brings into the matchup.
The Mississippi Football Power Index favors Grenada entering Friday night, but Ripley has an immediate opportunity to change that picture.
For a first meeting, the stakes are refreshingly straightforward: whichever defense tackles best will probably write the first line of the series.
