By Robert Wilson
This time Hartfield Academy didn’t run out of gas.
And because the Hawks had plenty of fuel at the end, they get to defend their MAIS Class 6A state championship next week.
No. 3 seed Hartfield shut out No. 2 seed Madison-Ridgeland Academy in the second half and rebounded from an 11-point deficit in the first half for a 17-14 victory in the 6A state semifinals Friday night before an estimated 4,000 at MRA’s Patriot Field in Madison.
Hartfield improved to 11-2 and meets No. 1 seed and undefeated Jackson Prep, a 37-0 winner over No. 4 seed Jackson Academy in the other semifinal, for the 6A state title Saturday at 6 p.m. at Mississippi College’s Robinson-Hale Stadium in Clinton. Hartfield lost to Prep 51-45 Oct. 18 at Hartfield.
MRA finished 9-3 and lost two of its last three games. The Patriots were rolling most of the season and were undefeated against Mississippi teams (only loss was to Arkansas public school powerhouse Pulaski Academy) and had defeated defending MHSAA Class 7A state champion Oak Grove 51-13 and Hartfield 44-35, and were 8-0 in Mississippi before losing to Prep 42-17 Oct. 25 at Prep.
In MRA’s win over Hartfield in the regular season, MRA jumped out to a 21-0 lead before Hartfield rallied to take a 28-24 lead, but MRA scored 20 straight points in the second half to take a 44-28 lead. MRA won 44-35.
Hartfield, which started seven players both ways for much of the season, was tired in the second half and MRA took advantage of it.
Friday night’s game started off the same way as MRA had two long scoring drives (70 and 80 yards) and took a 14-3 lead. The first score a 1-yard run by senior running back, Madison Central transfer and Arkansas State commitment DJ Watkins and the second TD on a spectacular, 68-yard highlight reel run by senior running back and Jackson Academy transfer AJ Parker, where he broke several tackles and made a spin move and outran for Hartfield secondary to the end zone.
But that was the last points for MRA.
Hartfield had more energy in the second half, and it paid off. The Hawks closed the gap to 14-10 on a 6-yard run by senior and Houston commitment Kenzy West in the second quarter.
West added a 1-yard TD run with 6 minutes, 12 seconds to play in the third quarter for a 17-14 Hartfield lead to complete a 76-yard drive. The score was set up by a pass from 34-yard pass from junior wide receiver Bralan Womack to senior wide receiver Sam Sheffield. That would be the last points scored in the game.
MRA missed a field goal attempt and Sheffield intercepted a pass at the MRA 5 to stop another potential MRA scoring drive in the second half.
Then MRA had a chance to take the lead late after junior quarterback Samuel Stockett completed a short pass to senior running back and Arkansas State commitment DJ Watkins and he ran 65 yards before Hartfield junior defensive back and Warren Central transfer Teryn Green made the touchdown-saving tackle at the 4.
On first down and goal, Watkins ran to the 1. On second down, MRA was called for illegal procedure to push them back to the 6 and two running plays gained only three yards to force fourth and goal from the 3. MRA coach Herbert Davis decided to go for the field goal, but the 20-yard attempt was wide right with 2:47 to play in the fourth quarter.
MRA had time to get the ball back and Hartfield lost 10 yards on first down back to the Hartfield 11 to set up second and 20. Catchings ran for 13 yards and Hartfield had third down and seven from the Hartfield 24. Hartfield senior quarterback Cayman Tapper completed an 11-yard pass to sophomore tight end Dylan Harris for a first down to the Hartfield 35 with 1:43 to play. MRA was out of timeouts, and Hartfield ran out the clock.
Hartfield’s running game was key to the win. The Hawks churned out 222 rushing yards, led by junior running back KD Catchings with 147 yards on 22 carries. He now has 999 yards and 14 TDs this season. West, playing some of the game from the wildcat position, had 59 yards on 10 carries and two TDs.
Hartfield’s defense was led by senior defensive lineman and Alabama commitment London Simmons and Womack – rated the No. 1 safety in the country in the Class of 2026 by 247 Sports – with nine tackles each. Senior linebacker Cooper Howard had five tackles and one sack.
“I am so proud of the performance of our defense,” said Hartfield coach Craig Bowman, last year’s PriorityOne Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Coach of the Year after leading the Hawks to a 14-0 record and its first state football title in school history. “(Defensive coordinator) Coach (Rip) Lindsey and the defensive staff had a great game plan and adjusted well throughout the game. We learned a lot after our first game with MRA about our personnel and figuring out how to play at the highest possible level deep into games. We do not have the depth as some of the other teams in our league do so we have had to get really creative in trying to rest our guys.
“We knew last night would be a fight and that is exactly what it was. Coach Davis and his team are so complete and compete so hard. I am so proud of the maturity and character of our kids. They have grown together all year. We have had a lot of doubters this year and these kids just continue to fight.”
“I’m proud of my guys. They showed pride, determination, and resilience when faced with adversity,” first-year Hartfield defensive coordinator Rip Lindsey said. “We made a few minor adjustments at the half that helped us counter their up-tempo attack. Our senior leaders assured the rest of the team that we were capable of doing what was necessary in the second half for us to be successful.
“The biggest difference in this game versus the last one was our conditioning. We’ve finally had the opportunity to go through a few physical four quarter battles, and we were better Friday night because of it. We knew it would be a war. I just continued to preach to my guys about the five P’s – proper preparation prevents poor performance.”
“Our team demonstrated resilience and determination,” said West, who now has 22 TDs (10 receiving, 8 rushing, 2 punt returns and 1 each on kickoff return and fumble return) and 1,352 all-purpose yards this season. “During the half, our coaches inspired us to refocus and strategize. Coach told us it was a lot of football to be played. Our defense tightened and everyone stepped up and made some big plays. We became more aggressive leading to us making some big stops. This comeback was not just a testament to our skills, but also a reminder of the power of perseverance and unity when we are faced with adversity. This game was different because we communicated and executed plays. We played better on both sides of the ball and our communication was much stronger and we were able to adjust to their fast pace of play.”
The Hartfield loss meant MRA’s Davis missed the state championship game for the second straight season. He had only missed it once prior to last season since he took over at MRA in 2014. Davis won three straight state titles from 2019-2021.
Davis – a Brookhaven Academy, Co-Lin CC, and Mississippi College (bachelor’s degree) and Delta State (master’s degree) graduate – has won 246 career games with go along with six state championships (three at MRA, two at Brookhaven Academy and one at Pillow Academy) in his 28th season as a head coach. He is the only football coach in Mississippi history to take five schools (MRA, Brookhaven Academy, Pillow Academy, Heritage Academy and Winston Academy) to state championship games. Davis has won 112 games in 11 seasons at MRA.
Davis – known for his high-scoring offenses – scored 40 or more points in seven of his first eight games, but only scored 24 or less in three of his last four games. Friday night was the least number of points since a 21-14 loss to Prep in the 2022 state title game.
“We had the red zone blues,” Davis said. “We moved it up and down the field, but we had two missed field goals, an interception and multiple penalties kept us from scoring. It was a lack of execution.”
