Last October, Corinth beat New Albany 26–24. It was the closest game the two have played since 2015.
On Thursday night they play again at New Albany. Corinth is 3–0 in Region 1-4A, and so is New Albany. It's the last week of region play, so the winner takes the Region 1-4A title.
New Albany is 6–2. Corinth is 5–3. After Week 9, the Press Coverage Power Index (PCPI) still has Corinth by 2 on the road. That's a 56% chance. So the question for Thursday is simple: is the team with the worse record really the better team?
What Thursday decides
Both teams are already in the playoffs. Each has clinched a top-four finish in the region, whatever happens Thursday.
What's left is the title. The winner finishes unbeaten in region play. Nobody else in the region can win more than two region games. So the winner is the region's top seed, and the loser is second.
The record and the rating
Start with the schedule. Corinth's eight opponents have a combined record of 34–33. New Albany's eight have gone 29–40. Corinth has played the harder schedule, and the PCPI weighs that.
Corinth has lost three times, by a combined 24 points. Itawamba AHS won 21–14 and Pontotoc won 17–14, both at Corinth. Last Friday, Amory won 24–10 at Amory, a non-region game.
There is an honest limit on Corinth's case. The model had Corinth favored by 10 against Itawamba AHS and by 14 at Amory, and it lost both. A team that loses twice as a double-digit favorite isn't one to lean on hard.
New Albany's two losses came against good teams. Senatobia, now 9–0, won 34–27 at New Albany. Pontotoc won 35–7 at Pontotoc. New Albany's closest win this season was 35–28 at Caledonia, a Class 5A team.
Pontotoc has beaten both of them.
In region play, both have run away from everybody. Corinth has allowed 7 points in three region games. New Albany has allowed 36.
The PCPI rates Corinth 11th of 39 in Class 4A after Week 9. New Albany is 13th.
The series
Corinth leads the series 7–4 since 2015. It won the first six.
Then New Albany won four straight, from 2021 through 2024. The two schools were in different regions then, and every one of those games was a non-region game.
When it counts in the region, Corinth has won every time. In region games since 2015, Corinth has beaten New Albany in all five, including last year's 26–24.
The towns
Both are county seats.
Corinth, the seat of Alcorn County, counted 14,622 people at the 2020 census. It was founded in 1853 as Cross City, where two railroads crossed, and it was fought over in the Civil War. Every July, downtown throws the Slugburger Festival.
New Albany, the seat of Union County, counted 7,626. It's where William Faulkner was born, and it's the north end of the Tanglefoot Trail, a trail built on a former railroad.
Corinth won the Class 4A state title in 2019, beating Poplarville 55–21 in the final.
The teams
Justin Dye coaches Corinth. Cody Stubblefield coaches New Albany.
New Albany's offense runs through Kylen Knox, a senior running back who has run for 23 touchdowns. On the other side, Jayden Foster, a senior defensive end who is also listed at tight end, leads the team with seven sacks. Travon Scooter, a junior receiver and cornerback, leads New Albany in receiving yards per game. He also leads the team with three touchdown catches.
Corinth's roster lists several seniors on both sides of the ball. Jamir Barton is listed at running back and free safety. Qwuantiver Young is listed at quarterback and free safety. Marlon Alexander is listed at fullback and middle linebacker.
Where we think it goes
Corinth by 2 is close to a toss-up, but not quite one. We lean Corinth, because of who it has played and what it has done in region games against New Albany. But New Albany is the team at home with the better record, and Corinth's 56% chance leaves plenty of room.
Whoever wins Thursday takes the region title.
Notes
- How the numbers work: the Press Coverage Power Index (PCPI) rates every Mississippi team from its margins and schedule, and our projection for each game comes from those ratings. Ratings and ranks are after Week 9 and don't move after that.
- Town facts: Wikipedia (Corinth, Mississippi; New Albany, Mississippi; Slugburger), from the 2020 U.S. Census. Corinth's 2019 title: Alcorn County Sports (Dec. 7, 2019). Corinth's coach: its MaxPreps staff page. New Albany's coach: WCBI ("HSFT Stop #32: New Albany", July 26, 2026). Rosters: each team's MaxPreps roster page. New Albany's 2026 player figures: its MaxPreps stats page, as of Oct. 25.