Key: CL - Clarion-Ledger, MP - Maxpreps, NTL - National Polls, NR - Not Ranked. For the sake of priority ranking, CL - which was polled by media members - will be used for ranking purposes. Maxpreps uses computer rankings. If the Clarion-Ledger ranks one team - who uses just a top 10 - but the other is not ranked in the MP poll - who uses a top 25 - the CL will be used. MP poll will be used if teams are ranked outside the CL Super 10. If both teams are ranked in the same poll but both not in a "Top 10" poll, that poll will be used instead.

Who's Playing?: Oxford (1-0, #3 CL, #2 MP, #12 NTL (HSFB poll), #1 in 5A [MP]) vs. Starkville (0-1, #6 CL/MP, #77 NTL (MP Computer poll)
What?: National TV Game / First Road Game
Where?: Starkville High School Football Field
When?: Friday, August 28st @ 8:00 PM 
How can you keep yourself updated?: National TV on ESPNU, 95.5 FM Radio, Bullseye955.com, @OxChargerSports and various other Twitter accounts, thru the iScore Gamecast HERE (use ID 7DF28156B0 for entry if needed) and the iScore Central App on iPhone devices (search Oxford and/or Starkville)

The Lowdown: We have arrived at Oxford's second nationally televised game - and this time it is on one of the big boy networks.

This came to fruition when ESPN called Oxford about scheduling a game with an Alabama team for their showcase of games (which will be shown across their ESPN networks this weekend). With Oxford's schedule full, that couldn't happen but offered this game as an alternative. Starkville has two ESPN 300 players in AJ Brown and Kobe Jones and combined with Oxford's DK Metcalf also in the ESPN 300 and several other players seeing D1 offers pop-up that this alternative passed for ESPN and was able to get the deal done in April.

With the game under a huge national spotlight, let's actually talk able that very thing.

Oxford was rather sloppy in the yellow laundry department. In the last game, 33 yellow hankies were seen and 24 times it was because Oxford broke the rules. It ended up costing Oxford 194 yards in field position. Defensively, the Chargers did a fine job. Pitching a shutout against a quality opponent, but was also responsible for allowing six of Southaven's 13 first downs they got in the game by penalty. Clearly against Starkville, that cannot happen again. That many penalties is bound to cost you dearly at some point.

Oxford's offense struggled to get much going, mainly because of the yellow piece of cloth themselves, but also because the offense couldn't find much rhythm early. With a game under their belt, expect that to change a little bit. The Chargers really can't afford to do this against this defense.

The Starkville defense returns plenty of players off last year's squad that made it to 6A North Half before getting ousted by South Panola that solved their Rubik's Cube. While they return most of their defense, they didn't return a lot of their offense. They lost two of their three talented wide receivers, but retained Brown who they targeted a lot in their passing game. Brown was responsible for 14 of their 22 catches last week.

Starkville didn't play as well as it would like - similar to how Oxford felt last week except in the win/loss part of it - and lost to Noxubee County on the road. They did not score in either overtime. While Noxubee's defense is still very good, how can you not score one point twice when you start your drive at the opposing team's 10 yard line? A Field Goal kicker would be nice to have there.

Whatever the case was, you can expect this game to be a dog fight, with a lot of eyes watching it.

Weather (for Starkville, MS location): Clear, 75*F (no chance of rain). Little wind from the East. Temps. to drop near 70*F by the end of the game.

Other Notes: The visiting team has won each regular season meeting between the teams. Oxford won two years ago 35-24 while Starkville won last year in Oxford 52-29. Oxford won their only other nationally televised game against Lafayette in 2012 19-0.

Key: CL - Clarion-Ledger, MP - Maxpreps, NTL - National Polls, NR - Not Ranked. For the sake of priority ranking, CL - which was polled by media members - will be used for ranking purposes. Maxpreps uses computer rankings. If the Clarion-Ledger ranks one team - who uses just a top 10 - but the other is not ranked in the MP poll - who uses a top 25 - the CL will be used. MP poll will be used if teams are ranked outside the CL Super 10. If both teams are ranked in the same poll but both not in a "Top 10" poll, that poll will be used instead.

Who's Playing?: Oxford (0-0, #6 CL, #4 MP, #17 NTL (HSFB poll), #1 in 5A [MP]) vs. Southaven (0-0, #6 MP, #62 NTL (MP Computer poll)
What?: Season Opening Game
Where?: Bobby Holcomb Field
When?: Friday, August 21st @ 7:00 PM 
How can you keep yourself updated?: 95.5 FM Radio, Bullseye955.com, @OxChargerSports Twitter account

The Lowdown: For what has been a roller coaster offseason for Oxford, they will finally take the field tomorrow night at Bobby Holcomb Field.

The announcement of head coach Johnny Hill's retirement after this season has made the team put extra effort into finishing the job this team has failed to do twice in a row.

Then came the arrests of Kenzie Phillips who has started at running back the last two years for Oxford and Kyree White who has been a lethal No. 3 receiver for Oxford that could easily be any other team's No. 1 wideout on June 30th. Both are currently out on bond and are facing seven counts of auto-burglary, which carry a federal prison sentence if convicted. As it stands now, they are both suspended from team activities until further notice. Likely until their court date that will determine their future.

As for this game, Southaven - also named the "Chargers" - had a tough time against Lafayette - a team Oxford has throttled the last three years - in their jamboree and lost that 10-9. This is Southaven's second straight trip to Oxford as they traveled to William L. Buford stadium last week. Southaven's offense was the culprit of their struggles as their quarterback is new from last year that had around 2/3rd's of its offense go through the air. The pass game was struggling as they gifted the 'Dores 7 of their 10 points in the jamboree. They must find something in the run game to help out the passing game with their experienced running back #1 Dea'undre Wallace back in the backfield. On the other hand, it will give this young Oxford defense that lost more than half of their players from last year possibly some confidence. The OHS coaches in prior newspaper reports has given this defense high praise in the offseason.

Southaven's defense was pretty solid all night long, they did not allow a touchdown to the 'Dores (though in the past, that hasn't exactly been hard to do). They are however facing an Oxford offense that still returns nine of their offensive players from last year including the entire offensive line, which will help out new running backs Drew Bianco and Josh Patton who will split time to start with unless one of them goes on a hot streak during the game. As usual, Jack Abraham, DK Metcalf, Jimmy Greaser, and Zach Cousar - expected to play after sitting out with an injury last week - will cause trouble through the air. Hiram Wadlington, Preston Perkins, Ken Presley will all contribute in the fourth wideout slot left vacated by Kyree White. White was hurt throughout region play last year, but so was Abraham during the same time period, but they have some idea already as to how to play without him.

Southaven knows what it is up against. While it is the polar opposite of South Panola who will run it at your throat, this is a good test against high quality talent they are expecting to face when their region play games come around. As for Oxford, this is a good test to see what they can and can't do with their new pieces they weren't expecting to insert two months ago.

Weather: Partly Cloudy to Mostly Clear (no chance of rain), 75*F at kickoff. Temperatures to drop below 70*F by the end of the game.

Other Notes: Oxford is 38-5 over the last three seasons, including 31-2 in the regular season during the stretch. Oxford is nationally preseason ranked in the Top 25 in any poll for the first time in school history (17 in the HSFB100 poll, 23 in the Xcellent Maxpreps Top 25).

These Senior student-athletes listed here did not make my list of the Class of 2015 Dandy Dozen, but they will make contributions all the same to their respective teams this athletic year. Here is the list of my "Honorable Mentions" along with a short splurt. These are not in any order.

Alex Thomas (Boys Cross Country / Boys Track) - Arguably the best distance runner Oxford has returning going into this season, he will be looking to add to the trophy case and stands an outside shot at the individual title in the field this year and perhaps win a couple long events.

Christopher Sandroni (Boys Basketball) - With a departure of a bunch of seniors last year, he will need to step up as a team member to help make this team go far this season. He along with Dee Fair who has returned to the court for the first time in his high school career are the lone seniors on the court barring any other newcomers.

Sage Mullins (Baseball) - Mullins rose to take the 8-hole in the lineup and made sure he stayed there. Excellent bunter and solid outfielder that made just one error last season. With his bunting skills and solid hitting, I expect him to rise to the 2-hole position vacated by Matthew Guyton last season.

James Cutler, Henry Artica, Zac Jenkins, Alexis Martinez (Boys Soccer) - All seniors with an important role on the team this year that has not won a playoff game since winning the State Championship three years ago. Cutler is the most athletic guy on offense this year and Jenkins is back manning the goal. Artica and Martinez are back in the midfield looking to win the division this year and not have to play on the road.

Malek Daghestani (Boys Soccer / Boys Golf / Boys Swimming) - Also an important leader this year for the Boys Soccer team. He is also the guy with the most experience returning in Golf and Swimming. As stacked as the talent was, he was the one that just missed getting into the Dandy Dozen.

Emma Schultz, Kyla Malone, Lindsey Stout (Girls Basketball) - Schultz was thrown into the fire her Sophomore year when the injury bug hit the team and has been improving ever since. Likely should've seen JV time but never really did because of the situation. Malone was one of those injured and hasn't seen significant playing time since her Freshmen year but will if she can stay healthy. Stout was off the team for a year before returning with a new coach and during the summer games looked to have improved her game.

Tag Gatlin (Football / Baseball) - Will be a vital member on the offensive line protecting Jack Abraham and opening up holes for the running game. On the diamond, although he may not get to see the field much, he might be called upon in a pinch-hit situation as he has been in the past.

Anna Kate Joyce (Volleyball) - The only senior on this year's team. Playing mainly up front as an outside hitter or as the middle blocker, she will look to lead the team to the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Tias Hilliard (Football / Boys Soccer / Boys Powerlifting) - Hilliard will be looking to use his speed this upcoming football season. With Kenzie Phillips suspended likely for the whole year due to his misdeeds during the summer, look for Hilliard to get some more touches. He also stands a threat to come off the bench for the Soccer team if he doesn't start.

Dee Fair (Football / Boys Basketball) - He will be the leader of the linebacker corps this year after losing all of them last year either due to graduation or by transfer. He will also be on the basketball team this year for the first time since his freshmen year to help a team that lost several seniors last year.

Liam Cooper (Football / Tennis) - The other place-kicker on the team that also served as a punter. He has helped the Tennis team stay on top of their game with all the state championships they have won.

I apologize if I miss anyone that probably should've been on this list, but regardless of that, every student-athlete contributes to Oxford Athletics one way or another. Let's go out there and continue the tradition of winning.

**Editor's Note: This is the twelfth and last of 12 Class of 2016 Dandy Dozen Seniors I have released over the course of the last 12 weeks. You can see all 12 of the Class of 2016 Oxford Dandy Dozen Seniors and their write-ups HERE.

He's been called a freak, and rightfully so.

Since the summer before his Sophomore year when he committed to Ole Miss, DK Metcalf has been making SportsCenter highlight plays all across the football field. He will have the chance to make some of those highlights in two weeks when he plays in-front of an ESPN camera for the first time (and it won't be the last time either).

It has been ridiculous how deep this 2016 class is. A player that could be in the MLB Draft next June didn't get the top spot. Only a guy that could very well be in the NFL Draft in 3-1/2 years could top Jason Barber, and that is exactly what happened.

Metcalf became the first player in Oxford Football history to make the exclusive Clarion-Ledger Dandy Dozen selection. He was quickly followed by Jack Abraham almost a week later. The reason being is for his freakish ability to catch the football and his big frame of 6'5" and being at more than 200 pounds. Metcalf and his dad Terrance who is also on the team as a coach became just the second Father-Son duo to have each made the CL Dandy Dozen. They join the late Steve McNair and Steve McNair Jr. as the other duo. However, this is the first duo to do it at two different high schools. (Terrance went to Clarksdale).

DK Metcalf has garnered a total of 2,041 all-purpose yards during his varsity career. Of those yards, 1,847 yards have been receiving, 133 rushing yards, 26 interception return yards, 21 kick return yards, and 14 punt return yards. On the receiving end, he has caught the ball 131 times for those 1,847 yards and 27 touchdowns. Those numbers also had him missing the majority of the region games during his Sophomore year. On defense, he also has 4 interceptions, with at least one interception in each of his three varsity years so far (one his Freshman year, two his Sophomore year, one his Junior year).

Metcalf was invited and went to the Opening in Oregon and has accepted an invitation to the US Army All-American Bowl which will be shown on NBC on January 9th well after the season ends. Like the four other classmates of his, he is also committed to Ole Miss, but was the first of his class to do so. He is also the only Ole Miss commit to not be committed to play Baseball - but I'm sure we would give it a shot if he could.

Tonight, he will take the field for the first time this season when him, Abraham and the rest of the Chargers take on Charleston at Bobby Holcomb Field. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m.

Editor's Note: One of the players that was going to be in this Dandy Dozen list has since been arrested prior to his name being released and is currently being charged with seven counts of vehicle burglary - which if convicted carries a sentence of seven years per count, up to 49 years, in a state prison. For that reason, I have decided to remove him from this list. In return, a new person will be listed in the Dandy Dozen revealed on July 10th. The player removed was going to be at #6, so everyone below six will be bumped up one spot.

The summer of 2015 is here. So, like in the previous three years, I will waste every Friday of your summer releasing a name for the upcoming Dandy Dozen. The Dandy Dozen list consists of Seniors ONLY. I will be randomly releasing the student-athletes instead of releasing them in reverse rank (so that people cannot easily guess). The date each one being released will be associated with the rank. The top 4 will be the last four released. The release-process starts on May 29th.

1. DK Metcalf
2. Jason Barber
3. Thomas Dillard
4. Jack Abraham
5. Grae Kessinger
6. Houston Roth
7. Will Swindoll
8. Korbin Harmon
9. Zoe Scruggs
10. Connell Yoste
11. Sarah Nash
12. Zach Cousar

**Editor's Note: This is the eleventh of 12 Dandy Dozen Seniors I am releasing which will be done each Friday. You can see a schedule of which number will be released HERE. #1 will be released next week.

Among his list of accomplishments: USA Baseball Tournament of Stars selection, Louisville Slugger High School All-American, ABCA/Rawlings Second Team All-American, Maxpreps First-Team All-American, Maxpreps Junior National Player of the Year, Clarion Ledger's Mr. Baseball, MAC 5A Player of the Year, Team Mississippi selection, USA Today All-American Second Team, Mississippi's Gatorade Player of the Year in Baseball, Daily Journal's Player of the Year, Oxford Eagle's Player of the Year (twice), and of course the Oxford Citizen Player of the Year. That's just to name a few things that he's accomplished, and I haven't named them all.

Jason Barber is just now approaching his senior year.

You can call him Iceman or J-Bird as those are his normal nicknames, but also call him perfect with the season he had last year. Barber finished the season with a 0.00 ERA - which is a new Mississippi Record in high school that will never be broken as no one can obtain an ERA in the negatives and prior to this year no one has accomplished this feat - and has not allowed an earned run in his last 79-2/3 innings (including the last 1-2/3 during his Sophomore year). It was a year very few pitchers in high school get to experience.