By Robert Wilson
Channing Ward was a part of two of biggest wins in Ole Miss football history when he helped the Rebels upset then No. 1 ranked Alabama in Oxford in 2014 and defeat the Crimson Tide to end 27-year drought in Tuscaloosa in 2015.
Now, Ward – the new St. Andrew’s Episcopal School head football coach – wants to make history at the Ridgeland private school.
Ward has the task to taking over a program that hasn’t had a winning season in nine years but is optimistic he can bring a winner to St. Andrew’s.
“During my time at Ole Miss, I learned hard work, discipline, and the value of teamwork,” Ward said. “I also learned how to face and overcome adversity. I take all of those lessons with me to St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. I am really excited to be part of such a high level and incredibly honest and kind place.”
Ward was a national five-star recruit coming out of Aberdeen High where he led his team to back-to-back MHSAA Class 3A state runner-up finishes. Ward had Division I offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, Notre Dame, and Memphis.
Photo by Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics
The 6-foot-4, 279-pound Ward was ranked No. 1 in Mississippi, and No. 36 in the country in the Class of 2014 by 247 Sports.
He played defensive end for then Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze from 2012 to 2016, played in 47 games and had 109 tackles (56 solo), 6.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss in his college career. Ward played two seasons for the Tampa Bay Bucs in the NFL.
He coached the defensive line at his alma mater, Aberdeen High, for one season, then at New Albany High for two seasons and Coahoma Community College for one season before coming to St. Andrew’s.
“I heard about the position through a high school friend of my brothers (Taurus Ward), who currently works at St. Andrew’s,” Ward said. “I had been interested in finding a head coaching job and took some time to go meet the people at St. Andrew’s. I really liked the people and felt I could be an asset to their program. We all agreed that character was of utmost importance as we build student athletes.”
Ward’s coach at Aberdeen, Chris Duncan, has remained close to Ward over the years.
“He has just been like a part of my family,” Duncan said. “My two older boys told everyone he was their older brother. I have followed him throughout his career. He was one of the best high school football players from this state. After his NFL career was done, I was thinking one night about what he was doing, so I called him, and we ate lunch at Harvey’s in Tupelo and we hired him (as an assistant coach) that Tuesday. Part of the deal was I made him promise he would finish his degree. I’m so proud of what he has accomplished and what is in the future for him in football, how he can help mold and make young men out of them. He could do it all, was such a humble kid whose faith in God kept him grounded.”
Ward’s play one night during high school stands out in Duncan’s memory.
“A lot of people don’t know this, but Channing could play any position on the field,” Duncan said. “We played him at corner one night because Mooreville had a receiver that was really good. The first play they ran a pass to this receiver, and Channing had picked him up and slammed him at the line of scrimmage. He didn’t allow him a catch the entire night. In another game, Channing played safety against the double wing and had 23 tackles.”
St. Andrew’s finished 4-7 last season under coach Johnny Nichols, who coached the Saints for seven seasons.
“St. Andrew’s has a work ethic in the classroom that produces bright students, that same drive shows up on the football field,” Ward said. “Our students work hard, and we also teach accountability and respect. Those characteristics help create competitive teams. Our students grow through lessons of character, teamwork, and competitiveness. As a coach, I believe those are the fundamentals that help build a winning team.”
St. Andrew’s hasn’t had a winning since Coach David Bradberry led the Saints to a 6-5 record in 2015. In fact, Bradberry has had all the winning seasons since 1998.
Bradberry, a member of the Mississippi Association of Coaches Hall of Fame, has an 62-30 record in eight seasons at St. Andrew’s and had two stints there. He had a brilliant 52-19 record, a 73.2 winning percentage, from 2003-2008, and three consecutive winning seasons and went undefeated in region play for three straight years. Bradberry also won the last playoff game for St. Andrews. He won three straight first round games from 2006-2008, and won 29 games during that straight, including 12-2 in 2006. Bradberry reached the Class 2A state semifinals in 2006. He won 208 games in 26 seasons – an average of eight wins per year – as a high school head coach and only had five losing seasons.
“I didn’t do anything magical when I was at St. Andrew’s,” Bradberry said. “We had a good combination of great talent, guys who cared for each other and guys who worked hard. We were fortunate to win a lot of games when I was coaching.”
Ward reached out to Bradberry to advice.
“During my time at St. Andrew’s, I have had the pleasure of being mentored by St. Andrew’s winningest football coach David Bradberry,” Ward said. “He has been very helpful in teaching me how to get the most out of St. Andrew’s students. I had the incredible opportunity to learn from Coach Freeze while I was at Ole Miss.”
“I’ve kept up with Channing since he was in high school,” said Bradberry, who began his head coaching career at Greenwood High in 1987 and was a head coach at Clinton High and Tupelo High as well as St. Andrew’s before retiring in 2017. “He was a great player in high school and in college. He knows the game, he gets along with folks, he enjoys people, has been around good football coaches, and has been great with the kids.”
Bradberry was a part of the group who was in charge of finding a new coach and was going to help out with spring practice before Ward was hired the weekend before spring practice began. Bradberry helped Ward some with spring practice.
“I have been very impressed with Channing,” Bradberry said. “The players listen to him, and he has bonded with them quickly. He has also gotten some players who were only playing baseball, soccer or basketball who weren’t playing football to come out, so his numbers are up. He has good athletes out there and I think he will have a good season. The school make a great choice when they hired him.”
Freeze, now Auburn’s head coach, had one of the most successful runs in Ole Miss history and Ward was one of the reasons why.
“Channing Ward is one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached,” Freeze said. “I love his humble beginnings and how hard he’s worked. I’m extremely proud of him and excited to watch him develop as a head coach in his home state of Mississippi.”
St. Andrew’s top players are senior linebacker-running back Austin Morgan, senior linebacker-wide receiver Stone Myrick, sophomore quarterback-linebacker Pierce Ingram, junior wide receiver-safety John William Walker and sophomore offensive line-running back-defensive lineman-linebacker Dylan Tobias.
“Coach Ward has been a great hire for SA football, and he’s taught me a whole lot about route running specifically for me and also blocking,” Walker said. “He brings a whole new expertise on the defensive side of the ball and has made defense simple, but very effective. Coach has really helped teaching the offensive and defensive lines how to handle often much bigger and much more experienced offensive and defensive lines and has shown them how to be effective even when they don’t have the size advantage. Coach also knows exactly how to connect with his players but also knows the right moments to be serious.”
St. Andrew’s opens the season against West Lincoln Friday in Brookhaven. St. Andrew’s defeated West Lincoln 24-3 in last year’s season opener.
