Jackson Free Press

The six state championships in Mississippi high-school football will be decided this Friday, Dec. 2, and Saturday, Dec. 3. This year, teams will play on the campus of Mississippi State University at Davis Wade Stadium.

One of the biggest matchups will be for the 6A championship, with Clinton High School facing Pearl High School on Friday at 7 p.m. This is the second championship game for both schools.

Pearl is making its first appearance in the championship game since 1985 when the team fell to Louisville High School. Clinton returns to the title game for the first time since 2000, which ended in a loss to Moss Point High School.

Starting off the title games Friday will be the 1A championship, which will begin at 11 a.m. and features Lumberton High School against Simmons High School from Hollandale.

Lumberton is making its fifth appearance in the title game and is a perfect four for four in championships. Simmons is the defending champion at the 1A level and is making its third run for the title.

After the 1A game is the 2A game at 3 p.m. featuring Bay Springs High School facing off against Calhoun City High School. Bay Springs is making its third appearance but looking for its first win. Calhoun City is in its 11th title game, the most appearances for any school playing this year, but only has one win to show for all the trips.

Saturday’s games begin at 11 a.m. with the 3A championship between Charleston High School and Kemper County High School out of De Kalb. Kemper County is playing its first title game, and Charleston is making its sixth appearance but has won just one title.

The action continues on Saturday with the 4A title game at 3 p.m. as Poplarville High School faces Lafayette High School from Oxford. This is the first championship-game appearance for Poplarville, but Lafayette is making its fifth title run and has two championships.

Saturday night features the final title game between Laurel High School and West Point High School, kicking off at 7 p.m. Laurel is playing its sixth title game and has three titles, and West Point is playing for its 10th title with seven titles under its belt, the most out of any school making an appearance this year.

The northern teams will be the home squads during these championship games and will be on the sideline with the press box. Attendees can purchase tickets at the gate for $15 and are good for all three games on either Friday or Saturday. Tickets are also available for $14 at any school playing in a championship game.

If you can’t make it to the games, you can still catch them on TV in the Jackson area on MeTV WAPT or channel 16.2 on the digital dial. The games will also be aired in Hattiesburg on WDAM Bounce (7.3); Meridian on WMDN Bounce (24.2); Tupelo …