For the fifth straight year, Caruthersville and Malden will play for the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 title Friday night in Caruthersville.
The Tigers earned the home-field advantage with a 33-7 win at Malden in the second week of the season on August 25. That ended a six-game win streak by the Green Wave in the series that included the last three district title games.
"They did a good job of scouting us," Malden coach Kevin Collier said. "They took some stuff away. We hadn't been in that situation much and we didn't respond well. That's not taking away from the, they're a good football team."
Malden (10-1) has won nine straight since and scored at least 42 points in every game but the loss to Caruthersville.
The Tigers (8-2) are led by quarterback Charles Golliday who has thrown for over 1,500 yards and ran for 500 more with 13 touchdowns. Against Malden, he threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns while running for 94 yards.
Collier said Golliday does a good job keeping his eyes downfield looking for a chance to complete a pass or run for yards if nothing is open.
"It's a double-edged sword," Collier said. "Put heat on him it creates a run and a pass opportunity."
Last week after missing a game with a concussion, Golliday ran for four touchdowns, threw for another and returned an interception 68 yards for a score in a 66-28 win over Charleston.
"He's got good kids to throw to," Collier said.
Chris Smith is Caruthersville's leading receiver with seven touchdown catches among his 28 for 374 yards. He's also ran for two scores and returned a punt and a kickoff for scores.
Bryce Strawn, who filled in for Golliday at quarterback to end the regular season and has thrown for three touchdowns in 10 attempts, has caught 10 passes for touchdowns and has 704 receiving yards on the season.
Running back Nicolas Moore is averaging 8.5 yards per carry with 779 on the season for 13 touchdowns. He scored three times and ran for 203 yards last week on 22 carries.
In each of the last four years, the team that won the regular-season meeting took the district title game as well.
If Malden can reverse that trend, the Green Wave can claim their fourth straight district championship.
The Green Wave are 57 yards shy of 5,000 for the season led by Tray Stevenson's 2,422 rushing yards and 38 touchdowns. Senior quarterback Mason Brown has thrown for 849 yards and ran for 835 more while senior Broddric Annesser has 617 receiving yards on the season.
In the first meeting at The Swamp, the Tigers out-gained Malden 444-265 and forced five turnovers.
"In every game ball security is a huge deal," Collier said.
Caruthersville led 13-7 until the final four minutes of the third quarter when the Tigers scored twice in the span of 2 minutes capped by a 68-yard touchdown run by Golliday.