He's the smallest guy on the field but makes the biggest impact for Bay Springs. Senior Anthony Newell plays with a chip on his shoulder, much like the rest of his team.
Each season East Marion seems to quietly sneak into the playoffs and make some noise. Well, seniors like Jadarrius Mallard would like to finish their high school careers with a bang.
Picture a 6-foot-2, 225-pound Ty Jones headed toward you with a full head of steam. That’s what teams have to deal with on a weekly basis around the Pine Belt.
A national search is underway at Mississippi State University for a new athletic director after John Cohen resigned from the position to accept the role of athletic director at Auburn.
It was a slow start to the season for Perry Central but coach Craig Cluff expected some growing pains with eleven of his starters being sophomores. The young pups are starting to become Bulldogs.
It seems like it’s been a different guy each week step up for the Tigers. When fullback Kye Braddock couldn’t go last Thursday, sophomore Jadden Roberts got the call and answered the bell...
Amarion Fortenberry didn’t see his first action at running back until the first round of last year’s playoffs. He looks like a natural at the position now, rushing for 182 yards and four touchdowns in Friday’s win over Sumrall.
Unfortunately, Hattiesburg knows the feeling of starting 0-4. That’s how last year went before the Tigers won five of six to make the Class 5A playoffs.
Sumrall lost 21 seniors from a season ago, with 18 new faces taking the field this year. But the Bobcats are 3-1, thanks in part to leaders like Jordan Ware stepping up on both sides of the ball.
Larry Dolan is back in Brooklyn and has Forrest County Agricultural off to a strong start at 3-0. “It’s very different and it feels way better,” said FCAHS senior running back Keeghan Rodgers. “Actually knowing that we can win and we actually have a chance this year, it just feels so much better.”
Wayne County waltzed into Friday night’s intermission with a 20-0 lead over visiting Oak Grove. The Warriors finally awoke from their slumber, clawing back to tie the game at 23-23. As intensity built in the fourth quarter, junior kicker Luke Stewart’s nerves remained surprisingly calm.
There’s a long list of Laurel running backs who were bruisers. Caden Arrington is shaking it up a bit in the Golden Tornadoes’ backfield, but just as effective.
The rain put a damper on high school football practices around the Pine Belt his week. Luckily for the West Jones Mustangs, they got most of their work done in the spring and summer.
After going 2-7 last season, Purvis looks to improve in 2022. To do that, Head Coach Brad Hankins will lean on wide receiver and corner Mason Beverly to lead the charge for the tornadoes.
Isabella Rowell, an 8th grader at Columbia Academy, won the title of Female Athlete of the Year for Youth Archery last month from the State Games of Mississippi.
There’s been an energy around Oak Grove this summer – a group of football players eager to get back on the field. Jeramie Posey plans to leave it all out there for his senior season, embodying the attitude needed in a defensive end.
It was a tough start to the year for Laurel High School when a January fire left its fieldhouse heavily damaged. But the Golden Tornadoes football team was resilient throughout the summer, with seniors like Terrion McCullum leading the way.
With three station championships in five years, Jefferson Davis County is beginning to get used to the feeling. But 2022 is an entirely new year with new challenges for the Jaguars.
Second-year Wayne County head coach Jack Hankins feels good about what the War Eagles can do offensively this season – returning starting quarterback Carter Hankins and running back Isiah Boyd. But the key piece in allowing those guys to flourish is senior offensive guard/tackle Brenden Roscoe.
A state championship appearance from Wayne Academy back in 2020 was enough to convince basketball and track star Daxton West that he might also belong on the football field.
Zach “Buck” Buckley and Kristopher Moss are two of Sylva-Bay Academy’s nine seniors this season. It’s a group that’s won three straight region championships and would like to keep that tradition going.
Norman Johnston’s been the head coach of Stringer for less than two weeks. He said this summer’s been like trying to squeeze two-and-a-half months of work into two-and-a-half weeks. But Johnston’s already made an impression on the Red Devils and is relying on senior quarterback Waylon Tullos to be a coach on the field.
Bobby Carr left Alabama as the state’s winningest active high school coach to come to Presbyterian Christian School. A championship culture is what he wants to build in Hattiesburg.
Malcolm Price played all over the field last season – but his few snaps at quarterback will prove to be invaluable as he takes over the starting job in 2022.
Todd Lowery brings state championship pedigree to North Forrest. The Seminary native knows what kind of talent exists in the Pine Belt area and is eager to build something new in Eatonville.
Last summer, Perry Central coach Craig Cluff handed out T-shirts with question marks – asking what sort of player were the Bulldogs going to be each day?
It has been years since Marchant Kenney tied up his cleats for the Golden Eagles, but when he donated his jersey to a local sports bar, it felt like 1997 all over again.
After 20 straight losses over two years, the Sacred Heart football team finally tasted victory last season going 8-2. The Crusaders look to replicate that success in 2022.
Mount Olive dressed out 34 players in the spring – the most in Dante Durr’s seven seasons as head coach. The Pirates are young but many have been starting since their freshman year.
Sumrall lost 21 seniors from a season ago and are young on defense. Head coach Shannon White is relying on seniors like Braden Harvey to lead the charge.
It’s all a build up to Friday nights in Foxworth. “Before we walk through that door I tell them we’re punching a clock and we’re going to work,” said West Marion assistant coach Don Clanton. “And we expect you to give us that 48 minutes, win or lose.”
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