Reclassification didn’t do any favors for the French Camp Academy football program as far as 2019 is concerned.
The Panthers, who have been a playoff contender for the past decade, will run up against some fo the top teams in MHSAA Class 1A during regular season Region 2-1A play.
According to the website Mississippi Gridiron, three of the top five 1A teams in the state reside in that region. Nanih Waiya is preseason No. 1, while Smithville is No. 4 and Noxapater No. 5. Joining FCA and the aforementioned three teams in the region this year are Tupelo Christian, Okolona, Vardaman, Hamilton and West Lowndes.
The top four teams advance to the playoffs.
— Austin Bishop
CCHS RUNNERS OPEN ON AUG. 24
The first meet for the Choctaw County High School boys and girls cross country teams will be Aug. 24 at Madison Central.
Coach Andy Young said the only other regular season meet that his teams will definitely compete in is Sept. 5 at Collinsville. “There are not a lot of close ones (meets) like there were last year,” he said.
The boys team finished eighth at the 3A state meet last year. The girls did not have enough runners to compete as a team.
— Laurence Hilliard
PACKED
VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE
Choctaw County High School is one of seven schools taking part in volleyball in the MHSAA’s Class I, Region 4. Class 1 regions are made up of 1A, 2A , and 3A schools.
Joining CCHS in the region are experienced teams in Amory, Aberdeen and West Lowndes, as well as relative newcomers Nanih Waiya, Noxapater and Kemper County. Only two teams advance out of each region.
— Austin Bishop
KOSY’S HARMON TABBED TOP 2021 RECRUIT
Accolades for his football and basketball prowess is nothing new for Kosciusko High School’s Antonio Harmon. After all ,he received his first NCAA Division I college football scholarship offer as a freshman, when Mississippi State did the honors.
Harmon is ranked the No. 1 football recruit in the state for the class of 2021 by 247 Sports, a recruiting website. He is currently tabbed as the no. 77 nationwide recruit.
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound junior wide receiver/defensive back has SEC offers from Ole Miss, MSU, LSU, and Georgia, as well as instate school, the University of Southern Mississippi, and other schools across the nation. Many more offers are expected.
Last year he caught 18 passes for 445 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 24.7 yards per reception. The versatile Harmon also recorded two defensive touchdowns — one interception and one fumble return — and scored twice on kick returns.
Harmon and the Whippets pay a visit to Choctaw County High School on Sept. 20.
— Austin Bishop
SIX INDUCTED INTO MAIS COACHES HOF
Three former Winston Academy coaches – Les Triplett, Barry Gray and David Blount – were among six men inducted into the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools Coaches' Association Hall of Fame Saturday in ceremonies at the Rankin County campus of Hinds Community College.
“The first thing I thought about when I found out that I would be inducted was all the people who have helped me,” said Triplett, the long time activities director for the MAIS. “It's really not about me. It's the people God put in front of me and behind me to push me.
The other members of the Hall of Fame Class 2019 are long time Meridian High School and Lamar School football coach Mac Barnes; MAIS football official, Prentiss Christian Board of Directors member and MPSA Executive Committee member James Russell Dumas; and Central Delta Academy and Indianola Academy basketball standout Mike Sibley who once scored 64 points n a game. There are now 90 members of the Hall of Fame which began with the 2002 class.
— Laurence HIlliard
