POPLARVILLE - Call Thursday's season-opening football battle between No. 13-ranked Pearl River and No. 22 Northwest Mississippi a "litmus test."

Both perennial MACJC powers will get a solid idea of their football prowess in 2010 after locking horns at 7 p.m. here in Dobie Holden Stadium.

Ninth-year Wildcat head coach Tim Hatten admitted as much.

"As good as Northwest is year in and year out, both teams will know where we stand," Hatten said. "They barely missed out on the post-season last year, but so did we. We've both got great winning traditions and we're both out to get back in the mix. We both want to make a statement in our openers.

"It's going to be fun to coach and fun to watch."

Head coach Ricky Woods, who boasted an incredible 213-43 high school record before arriving at NWCC, enters his third season in Senatobia. He guided the Rangers to a post-season berth his first year only to fall to eventual state champ Mississippi Gulf Coast in the first round of the playoffs. Last year, Northwest, which finished at 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the North Division a year ago, fell 41-36 in the regular season to now-25th-ranked Coahoma which proved to be the deciding factor in the Rangers' sitting at home during the post-season.

Coahoma, which sported an identical 4-2 division mark, nabbed the playoff spot berth via a tie breaker.

"Back in the '90s, they (Northwest) dominated the North Division," Hatten continued. "And they want to return to that kind of status. I feel like they're on the verge of really turning things around up there. Northwest is a well-coached team and they'll be ready to play in their season opener and we have to be ready ourselves."

A year ago in week No. 3, the Wildcats trekked to Northwest and survived a second-half offensive onslaught by the Rangers - including 21 third-quarter points - to salvage a 38-35 victory after blanking their hosts 24-0 at the intermission.

"They gave us all we could handle up there last year," Hatten said. "We were fortunate to come back home with a win. Northwest would like nothing better than to come down here and spoil our season opener in our own stadium.

"It's going to take a total team effort on our part."

The Rangers must replace prolific QB Casey Weston and Woods says there was a three-way battle for the job entering fall drills. Calvin Malone returns at running back and Xavier Lee at slot back.

The Wildcats will be depending heavily on the play of redshirt freshman QB Melvin German.

"Melvin's got a good arm and good mobility," Hatten said.

PRCC returns nine offensive and eight defensive starters from last year's squad, while NWCC returns five each on both sides of the ball.

The Pearl River-Northwest Rivalry

Pearl River holds a 26-9 win-loss advantage over Northwest in the series that dates back to 1937 when the Wildcats demolished the Rangers 54-0 in the two teams' inaugural match up.

The series didn't resume until nine years later when PRCC won 14-6, kicking off a string of nine straight victories over a 20-year span before the Rangers won their first battle with the Wildcats via a 21-7 margin in 1966. NWCC also won 27-20 the following season, but PRCC answered with a 20-0 shutout in 1968 and won six straight before the Rangers dropped the Wildcats 24-20 to open the 1976 season in Poplarville.

The two teams drew a rematch for the state championship that season with Pearl River taking a 17-7 win in Senatobia for its 15th MACJC title.

The last time the two teams met was week three of last season when the Wildcats survived a second-half Ranger onslaught to take at 38-35 victory. PRCC led 24-0 at the half of 2009's battle. The previous season, The River took an 18-0 home win, finishing the night with 315 yards of total offense to Northwest's 241.

In 2006's first-round post-season playoffs, PRCC took a 31-21 victory in Senatobia, propelling the Wildcats into the MACJC title bout where it nipped Copiah-Lincoln 21-20 in Wesson for its unprecedented 19th state championship. Pearl River, which has won national titles in 1961 and 2004, went on to play for the NJCAA championship that season in the Pilgrim's Pride Bowl in Mt. Pleasant, Tex., but fell to Blinn (Tex.) 19-6.

Northwest has won or shared eight state championships, including back-to-back titles in 1991 and 1992. From 1982 until 1992, the Rangers were the MACJC champs five times. It's last championship came in 1999.

Pearl River, on the other hand, boasts an unprecedented 19 state titles, including national championships in 1961 and 2004. The Wildcats won four straight MACJC titles in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.

Other MACJC Season Openers

In other season openers - all non-division battles - around the MACJC, Copiah-Lincoln hosts Coahoma in Wesson, East Central hosts Northeast Mississippi in Decatur, fifth-ranked Mississippi Gulf Coast hosts seventh-ranked and defending state champ East Mississippi in Perkinston, Itawamba hosts Hinds in Fulton, Holmes hosts Southwest Mississippi in Goodman, Mississippi Delta hosts 19th-ranked Jones County in Moorhead.

Wildcats Over The Airwaves

All Pearl River games are broadcast live on WFMM-FM (97.3) in Hattiesburg, WFFF-FM (96.7) in Columbia, WBOX-FM (92.9) and WBOX-AM (920) in Bogalusa, La.; and WRJW-AM (1320) in Picayune. Long-time play-by-play announcer Jason Baker, color commentator Clay Sweet, and sideline reporter Jeff Lossett will handle the broadcast. Airtime for Thursday's PRCC-Northwest broadcast is 6:30 p.m. For fans at the game, tune your FM radio dial to 88.1 to listen to the broadcast. You may also listen to the Wildcats over the internet by logging on to www.prcc.edu. Click on the icon at the bottom left of the screen, and follow the instructions.