(Photo from MHSAA, by Keith Warren)
- See who won the gold footballs over three days at The Rock to cap off dream seasons.
An exciting three-day celebration of Mississippi’s best high school football teams ended Saturday night as the MHSAA state championships wrapped up at M.M. Roberts Stadium on the campus of Southern Miss.
Here are some highlights of the action that rocked The Rock.
Class 7A – Tupelo 28, Brandon 16
The Golden Wave polished off a perfect 14-0 season on Thursday behind an impressive effort from workhorse junior JJ Hill. He rushed 34 times for 224 yards and scored three total touchdowns, rushing in from 6 and 32 yards and adding 37-yard scoring reception, the last in the game’s final minute.
Tupelo led 14-0 at halftime, but Brandon (12-2) kept things interesting with a strong second-half effort. It’s the second state title for the Wave, their first since 1992.
Class 6A – Grenada 43, Hattiesburg 14
The Chargers (14-1), a loser in this game last year, claimed their first state title behind four rushing touchdowns from Macaleb Taylor on Saturday night.
Previously unbeaten Hattiesburg (13-1) had leads of 6-0 and 14-7 in the first quarter before getting overwhelmed.
Taylor rushed 29 times for 211 yards with a long run of 59 to go with TDs from 5, 1, 2 and 2 yards out. The home favorite Tigers were held to 205 total yards, 99 of those passing yards.
Class 5A – West Point 28, Gautier 21
The Green Wave (11-3) won their record 13th state championship on Friday night in typical fashion, behind a stout running game. Shamane Clark led the way, rushing 26 times for 168 yards and three touchdowns from 1, 9, and 1 yards out with a long run of 69 yards.
For Gautier’s Gators (12-2), Trey Irving completed 20 of 26 passes for 229 yards and a TD, also rushing 15 times for 89 yards. He was sacked four times.
Class 4A – Poplarville 29, Louisville 28
It was a sweet and historic victory on Saturday for the Hornets (13-2), who had lost four previous appearances in the championship game. Sophomore Tylan Keys rushed for 130 yards and a TD and also scored on an 83-yard kickoff return. Teammate Ayden Harmon finished with 14 tackles (4 solo).
Louisville (13-2), which led 15-14 at halftime and had hoped to win a 13th state title, got 194 yards and two TDs from ninth-grader Zaiden Jernigan.
Class 3A – Choctaw County 34, Noxubee County 27
It’s the first state title for the Chargers (14-1), a merger school that opened in 2013. They were led in the Thursday win by quarterback KJ Cork. He passed for 172 yards and two TDs and added 70 yards rushing.
Ledareoun Moseley led Noxubee County (11-3) with 138 yards on 16 carries with two second-half TDs of 2 and 24 yards. Five of his teammates registered double-figure tackles, led by Ekamryn Smith (7 solo, 9 assists).
Class 2A – Heidelberg 38, Charleston 6
The Oilers (14-1) grabbed the first state title in school history behind an impressive Saturday effort from sophomore QB Chase Craft, who passed for 257 yards and four touchdowns – two for more than 50 yards – and had a 36-yard scoring run. Ja’Kayden Moore had nine catches for 119 yards and two TDs of 29 and 3 yards. The defense held Charleston to 156 yards.
Heidelberg avenged a loss to Charleston (12-3) in last year’s championship game.
Class 1A – Baldwyn 21, Simmons 20
Baldwyn (14-1) claimed its second state title, the first since 2008, after surviving a tough first half on Thursday night. The Bearcats trailed 12-0 at halftime and had only managed 12 yards of offense.
The game’s MVP was linebacker Aiden Stewart, who scored on a 26-yard interception return and led his team with 11 tackles including a sack.
Simmons (13-1) scored on two special teams plays – a blocked punt and a kickoff return – but suffered four turnovers.
