HATTIESBURG — Watch seven Mississippi high school state championship games in three days and here’s what you get: a football overdose. You also get so much drama, so much of what famed TV broadcaster Jim McKay used to call “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”

We witnessed so much of both here on three perfect days for football at The Rock at Southern Miss. We also got a reminder of why Mississippi high school football has produced so many of the greatest football players in history of the sport. We saw a lot of amazing, young talent here in nearly 21 hours of football. But what we also saw was so much passion, so much spirit and so many tears shed of both joy and despair.

Text by Rick Cleveland, photos by Keith Warren

Several of the most storied Mississippi high school programs added chapters to their stories. West Point won a 13th state championship, the most of any school in the state. Louisville lost in its bid for a 13th title, losing a state championship game for the first time after 12 previous state championship victories.

Class 7A Tupelo staked a strong claim to being the No. 1 team in the state, winning by two touchdowns over Brandon to finish the season with a perfect 15-0 record. So it was that the Golden Wave added a golden football to its trophy case.

Among the small schools, Class 2A Heidelberg won its first-ever championship, cramming in at least 2,500 fans into its cheering section. Saturday would have been a good day to be a house thief in Heidelberg. Nobody was home. Baldwyn, known far and wide as a basketball town, claimed a first-ever 1A championship in football. Class 3A Choctaw County also won its first championship since Ackerman and Weir consolidated in 2013.

In Class 5A, Grenada, coached by former Mississippi State standout Michael Fair, also won its first state championship, easily defeating previously undefeated Hattiesburg 43-14 and spoiling the night for an estimated 10,000 Hub City fans who packed the east side of stadium.

Each game had its own story, its own heroes. Those stories follow in the order they were played.

Class 3A: Choctaw County 34, Noxubee 27

Thursday’s first game showcased two of the closest things to high school superstars you’ll see. The victorious Choctaw Chargers from Ackerman featured five-star wide receiver Caleb Cunningham, who signed with Ole Miss after earlier committing to Alabama. The Noxubee Tigers were led by strong-armed four-star quarterback Kamario Taylor, who committed early to Mississippi State, signed with the Bulldogs and could well be the future of the program.

Both are tall, streamlined athletes, who would not look out of place on an NFL sideline. Taylor stands 6-feet 4 inches tall, seems taller and flicks the ball 50 yards down the field seemingly with little effort at all. Cunningham has a Jerry Rice-like body, huge hands and sprinter’s speed.

So who do you think was the MVP of this exciting, down-to-the-last-possession championship game? Why, 5-foot-9, 170-pound junior Choctaw quarterback KJ Cork who would look eye-to-chest with Taylor if the two were face-to-face.

“I’ve always been doubted because of my height,” Cork said shortly after receiving the award for being the game’s most outstanding player. “But I don’t doubt myself and I am surrounded by a lot of guys who can make plays.”

Cork can make plays, too – and did. He ran for 78 yards on just 12 carries and completed 17 of 25 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns. He spread the ball around. Cunningham caught four passes for 52 yards and a touchdown, and four other receivers combined for 14 catches.

Taylor, pressured hard all night, completed 10 of 23 throws for 151 yards and touchdown, despite several drops and being harassed by relentless Choctaw pass rush.

Choctaw led 20-13 at halftime and increased that lead to 34-19 early in the fourth quarter before Noxubee’s rally fell short.

“We made some history here tonight,” Cork said. “This is the first time we’ve been to a state championship since we consolidated.”

Ackerman and Weir, two schools with rich football histories, combined in 2013. Weir, a 1A powerhouse, had won six state championships. Ackerman won two. Now, Choctaw County has won its first. There might be many more.

Class 7A: Tupelo 28, Brandon 16

Tupelo entered the Thursday night championship game with a perfect, 14-0 record and a tried and true plan. That plan: Dance with the one that brung you. Tupelo’s “one  is a stocky, square-jawed, 220-pound junior running back who wears a zero on his jersey goes by either Jaeden or J.J. Hill. By game’s end, Brandon might as well have called him Mister as in Mr. Hill.

Hill, already committed to Mississippi State, packs bruising power combined with a lightning quick burst of speed. He shredded the Bulldogs for 224 rushing yards on 34 carries. That was three more yards than Brandon’s normally high-powered offense managed against Tupelo’s sturdy defense. Hill also caught a 37-yard touchdown pass.

Asked about Tupelo’s game plan, Golden Wave offensive coordinator Trey Ward smiled and said, “Feed Zero and throw it just enough to keep the defense honest.” 

Hill scored three of Tupelo’s four touchdowns. On the other, clever Tupelo quarterback Noah Gillon, an Appalachian State signee, faked a handoff to Hill, and when the Brandon defense swarmed Hill, Gillon danced into the end zone from 15 yards out.

Despite dominating the line of scrimmage for most of the game, Tupelo led only 21-16 with about a minute to play and faced third down and two yards to go at the Brandon 32. The Golden Wave called a timeout. Asked about it in a postgame interview, Mr. Hill said, “I told them to give me the ball and I’ll end this thing.”

Why wouldn’t they? Hill barreled right up the gut for the game-clinching score. Said Tupelo coach Ty Hardin of Hill, “He’s the best I’ve ever coached, and the best I ever will coach.”

Class 1A: Baldwyn 21, Simmons 20

Doesn’t matter if it’s the NFL or Class 1A high school ball, there’s one constant in football: Turnovers kill.

The Baldwyn Bearcats, down 12-0 at halftime and with only 12 yards of total offense, rallied to defeat previously undefeated Simmons 21-20. And, as you might have guessed, the difference was turnovers or, from Baldwyn’s perspective, take-aways.

“We came into this game plus-32 in take-aways,” Baldwyn coach Michael Gray said in a postgame interview.

“Wait, did you say plus-32?” an astounded sports writer asked.

“Yeah,” Gray said. “That’s why we’re here.”

Let the record show Baldwyn finished a 14-1, state championship season a remarkable plus-35 in turnovers. That’s why the Bearcats are state champs. Both teams recovered two opponents’ fumbles, but Baldwyn also intercepted three passes. Baldwyn created all five of its turnovers in the second half, and that truly was the difference in the game.

Senior linebacker/tight end Aiden Stewart led the defensive charge for Baldwyn with 11 tackles, a sack, another tackle for a loss, one fumble recovery and one pass interception, which he returned 24 yards. From his tight end position, he also caught one pass for 25 yards, which was a good chunk of the Bearcats’ 125 yards of total offense. Little wonder he was chosen the game’s most outstanding player.

Gray was asked what adjustments his team made at halftime to rescue what seemed a sinking ship.

“We were just more physical,” Gray said. “I told them they had just 24 minutes left before some of them will start playing basketball and others will start working at their jobs. I told them it was up to them to determine how they would be remembered, and they came out and did what it took. I could not be more proud.”

So it is that Baldwyn, a Hill Country school widely known for its rich basketball history, adds a different shaped ball to its trophy case.

Class 5A: West Point 28, Gautier 21

Make that 13 state championships – a baker’s dozen – for the West Point Green Wave. West Point spotted Gautier a 7-0 lead and then took control as West Point teams almost always do. 

Some things do change: Long-time assistant Brett Morgan has replaced the highly successful Chris Chambless as head coach of the Green Wave. But most things about West Point football never change. The Green Wave still lines up in a power set and runs right at you. They still block and tackle with textbook precision. Thick West Point offensive linemen still have tree-trunk legs that look as if they live under a squat rack.

“The bar is set high here and we expect to win,” Morgan said. “I am just so thankful to be a part of it. Our guys work. We’ll probably take Monday off and then go back to work on Tuesday, get back in that weight room. It’s just what we do, and we believe in it.”

Senior running back Shamane Clark ran hard for 168 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries to win Most Outstanding Player honors. But Clark would tell you – and did – that his offensive line often cleared nice paths for him.

“He’s just a West Point football player,” Morgan said of Clark. “He’s waited his turn until his senior year behind some really good backs. I couldn’t be prouder of him. He’s the epitome of what this program is about.”

West Point’s defense, the team’s backbone, faced a huge challenge in Gautier’s shifty quarterback Trey Irving, the Class 5A Player of the Year, who ran for 89 yards and completed 16 of 20 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s a great player,” Morgan said of Irving. “Hats off to him. Hats off to Gautier. But hats off to our defense. They did a great job, just like they’ve done all year.”

A reporter asked Morgan: “Just how much time do your offensive linemen spend under a squat rack?”

“A lot,” he answered. “And they’re going to stay under it from now until next fall. We got tough kids who want to work. We’re tough.”

That part, too, never changes at West Point.

Class 2A: Heidelberg 38, Charleston 6

Chase Craft, a 167-pound 10th grader is listed on the Heidelberg roster as a QB/WR/CB/ATH. If you are not into football acronyms, that means quarterback/wide receiver/cornerback/athlete. He is all that, mostly athlete. Saturday in the State 2A championship game, he played safety and returned kicks, too.

He was the game’s MVP two times over (most versatile player and most valuable player), and was voted the game’s most outstanding player. Here’s why: On a perfect-for-football, cool, blue-sky afternoon, he completed 14 of 21 passes for 257 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran 17 times for 66 yards and a touchdown. That’s 323 yards total and five touchdowns if you’re keeping score, and in football we always do.

“I play everything, any position,” Craft said afterward amid the wild celebration on the Heidelberg sideline. “I do whatever my team needs me to do.”

As Craft spoke in front of the east side of The Rock, thousands of Heidelberg fans, nearly all dressed in white, cheered.

“Look at that,” Craft said, gazing. “We have so much support. We had to do it for these fans. This means everything to us because of them.”

The Jasper County town of Heidelberg had a population of 637 in the 2020 Census, but there were easily four or five times that many fans cheering the Oilers.

They had plenty to cheer. After Charleston led 6-0 early, the Oilers scored the game’s final 38 points, limiting Charleston to just 156 yards of total offense, only seven yards in the second half. This was the fifth championship game of the weekend and the first that was one-sided. And even this one was tied 6-6 at halftime before the Craft-led Oilers out-scored the Tigers 32-0 in the second half. 

Asked what he told his players at halftime Heidelberg coach Darryl Carter said he couldn’t repeat his halftime message. “I just got on their butt real hard at halftime to be honest,” Carter said. “I told them that you don’t get to do this again, (at least) not with this group.”

It was the first state football championship in Heidelberg history. And since Craft has two years remaining, it might not be the last.

Class 4A: Poplarville 29, Louisville 28

Fourteen-year-old ninth grader Zaiden Jernigan ran 194 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries – and lost. That tells you just how exciting and how well-played the 4A championship game was. By contrast, Poplarville sophomore Tylan Keys, an old man at 16, ran for 130 yards and touchdown and returned a kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown – and he won.

We’ll get to those two ridiculously talented young fellows shortly, but first the most pertinent news: This was the first time since the MHSAA when to a playoff system that Louisville has lost a championship game. The Wildcats, one of the premier high school programs, have won 12 state championships and were bidding to tie 5A champion West Point, which won its state record 13th straight championship Friday night. Poplarville had never won one before Saturday.

“Nobody else has been able to do what we did today,” an excited Keys told reporters afterward. “We worked all summer for this. It feels great. Look at us now!”

Keys missed eight entire games and much of several other games with a shoulder injury this season. Nevertheless, Poplarville brought an 11-2 record into the championship game.

Said Poplarville coach Jay Beech: “Other guys stepped up for us when Tylan was out, but he gives us something extra, that break-away ability you saw tonight. You need to a guy like him to win a state championship.”

Keys deflected credit to his line. “With an O-line like we have, my job was easy,” he said.

And Keys said he received inspiration from an unusual source, the star running back on the other team. Jernigan sprinted 96 yards for a first quarter touchdown before Keys broke his 87-yard kickoff return a few minutes later.

“He’s something,” Keys said of Jernigan. “I fed off him the whole game. He made me run harder. I was trying to match him.”

One observation: Probably the reason Louisville, which finished 13-2, loses so rarely is because the Wildcats hate to lose so much. At game’s end when a last-ditch Louisville pass fell incomplete and the final second ticked off, Wildcats players were strewn all over the field, most sobbing, some inconsolably. There were several touching scenes with Poplarville players trying to console the Wildcats.

The guess here is that we might see these two teams – and those two running backs – play for another championship in the near future.

Class 6A: Grenada 43, Hattiesburg 14

That Grenada knocked off previously perfect Hattiesburg in its hometown wasn’t shocking, but the final score was. Grenada, which finished 14-1, spotted the Tigers a 6-0 lead and then proceeded to dominate.

This was the Chargers’ second trip to the Pine Belt this year and there’s a story there. Way back in August, in only its second game, Grenada came down to the Hattiesburg suburb of Oak Grove. Final score: Oak Grove 38, Grenada 24.

“I thought that trip to Oak Grove made our team,” Grenada coach Michael Fair said. “We kind of did that on purpose. We knew the state championship was going to be down this way. We knew Oak Grove was going to be really good and they were. The score wasn’t what we wanted but we got better from it and we never looked back.”

A couple weeks after Oak Grove defeated Grenada, Hattiesburg beat Oak Grove 27-21. Just goes to show, what happens in August and September doesn’t always translate to what will happen in the first week of December. Against Hattiesburg, Grenada controlled the line of scrimmage, got the game’s only turnover and clearly won the kicking game. That’s a good recipe for victory.

Grenada’s Mccaleb Taylor carried 29 times for 211 yards and four touchdowns. He ran through some big holes, but he also ran over and around many Hattiesburg defenders. He was helped immensely by offensive linemen who blocked as their head coach once did.

“I know every coach in the state who has good back thinks his is the best in the state, but I really believe Mccaleb is the best back in the state,” Fair said. “This kid sees heavy boxes every Friday night and he just makes plays. I just thought he took over tonight.”

The defeat ended a storybook season for Hattiesburg with at least 10,000 purple- and gold-clad fans jammed into the lower concourse on the east side The Rock.

“We’ve had unbelievable support this year,” Hattiesburg coach Tony Vance said. “Our fans packed it tonight; we just couldn’t uphold our end of the bargain.”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.