Bay Springs running back Ty Jones named Class 1A ‘Mr. Football’

CLINTON, Miss. (WDAM) - Ty Jones, a two-way senior football standout at Bay Springs High School, found himself listed Thursday among Mississippi’s most elite.

Jones, who has rushed for more than 1,300 yards for the defending state champion Bulldogs so far this season, was one of six players from the state’s public high school ranks named “Mr. Football” for 2022.

Jones became the first Pine Belt player to represent Class 1A since former Lumberton High School quarterback/running back/return man Robert Henry was the classification’s “Mr. Football” for 2019 and 2020.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Jones, a running back and linebacker who is committed to Mississippi State University, has helped Bay Springs (10-1) back to the Class 1A playoffs.

Also recognized Thursday were Picayune High School senior running back Dante Dowdell (Class 5A) and Raleigh High School senior running back/linebacker Suntarine Perkins.

Mississippi’s “Mr. Football” award were selected in each of the Mississippi High School Activities Association’s six classifications and in conjunction with the Mississippi Association of Coaches.

The winners were selected by a committee of high school coaches and members of the media state-wide.

In order of classification, the 2022 Mississippi Mr. Football award winners follow:

Class 1A: Ty Jones – running back/linebacker; Bay Springs HS; senior
Class 2A: Austin Goss – quarterback; Scott Central HS; senior
Class 3A: Suntarine Perkins – running back/linebacker; Raleigh HS; senior
Class 4A: Isaac Smith – running back/defensive back; Itawamba HS;, senior
Class 5A: Dante Dowdell – running back; Picayune HS; senior
Class 6A: Bray Hubbard – quarterback; Ocean Springs HS;, senior.

Hubbard was selected in Class 6A for a second consecutive season.

More information about awards presentations will be shared in advance of the 2022 Blue Shield Blue Cross of Mississippi Gridiron Classic MHSAA Football State Championships.

The six games will be played over a two-day period, Dec. 2-3, at M.M. Roberts Stadium on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

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