By Robert Wilson
Columbia Academy hasn’t won a state football championship since 1978.
Second-year Columbia Academy head coach Joey Hawkins isn’t predicting he will bring the South Mississippi private school a state title this season, but he believes he has a good team with a lot of potential.
MAIS Class 3A Columbia Academy won its third game of the season without a loss to open the season for the first time since 2014 Friday night when it defeated MAIS Class 4A Simpson Academy 48-14 at Simpson in Mendenhall.
Simpson dropped to 1-2.
Hawkins knows how to win state championships.
The Indianola Academy alumnus is best known for his three straight state championships at Jackson Academy from 2003-2005, is one of five coaches in MAIS history to have a three-peat at the highest classification. He has a 161-69 record, a 70 percent winning percentage, in 28 seasons, with stops at Woodland Hills Baptist Academy, JA and PCS before coming to Columbia Academy. Hawkins had a 75-19 record (a 79.7 percent winning percentage) and four state titles, and two state runner-up finishes in eight seasons (2001-2008) at JA. He led PCS to a school record 11 wins and defeated Jackson Prep, Jackson Academy, and Madison-Ridgeland Academy in 2016, the first time since 1999 a team had accomplished those wins in the same season. Hawkins retired from coaching in 2017 at PCS.
“We are taking one practice at a time,” said Hawkins. “It is way too early to talk about a championship. The goal is to see how much we can get better Monday through Thursday, which determines how you play on Friday night. To become a championship caliber team a lot of things have to go your way. Getting better on a daily basis is number one. Making sure every player is putting the team first is number two. And you have to stay healthy to keep your most talented players on the field. But if you don’t have a championship practice every day, there is no way to win a championship. God gives you one day at a time to max it out for His glory.”
No one was surprised that Hawkins, after seven years of retirement, won again last season in his first year at Columbia Academy, a football program had won only eight games in the past four seasons. Columbia Academy finished 7-7 and lost to eventual champion Tri-County Academy in the semifinals at Tri-County in Flora. Columbia Academy won a playoff game for the first time since 2017.
His team looked like a state championship team Friday against one of the most successful football programs in the MAIS. It was the first time Columbia Academy had beaten Simpson since 2016 and the largest victory margin in the history of the series, dating back to 1972.
it was the third straight game Columbia Academy had scored more than 40 points, winning over Adams County Christian School 49-14 and Centreville Academy 44-16.
Columbia Academy rolled to a 28-0 halftime lead on the strength of three touchdown passes from senior quarterback Noah Fortenberry to junior tight end Trent Buckley of 30, 50 and 12 yards. Fortenberry added a fourth TD pass to Buckley of 10 yards in the third quarter. Columbia led 48-14 after three quarters.
Columbia Academy’s other TDs were from sophomore running back Bentley Myers (51 yard run), senior linebacker Carson Daniel (18 yard interception return) and junior defensive back Carson Stuart (74 yard interception return).
Simpson sophomore Brady McKinney returned the second half kickoff 89 yards for a TD and sophomore quarterback Braxton Baldwin completed a 10-yard TD pass to sophomore wide receiver Kolt Walker to close the gap to 28-14 in the third quarter.
Columbia Academy had 403 total yards and averaged 9 yards per play. Fortenberry completed 7 of 11 passes for 160 yards, all to Buckley, who is also one of the top baseball players in Mississippi in the Class of 2027. Myers had 114 yards on nine carries. Offensive lineman Kennan Thomas (a 6-foot-4, 310 pound junior) controlled the line of scrimmage.
Columbia Academy limited Simpson to 98 total yards. Daniels had nine tackles, one fumble recovery and one interception and Stuart had five tackles and one interception, and junior linebacker Shannon Willis and senior linebacker Maddox McDaniel had five tackles each. “We arrived at Columbia Academy 20 months ago,” Hawkins said. “These young men answer the bell every day. Winter workouts, spring workouts, summer workouts and fall workouts and the every day grind of in season preparation each week. This team has captured my heart. I am proud of this group of young men.”
And beating Simpson was special to Hawkins. Simpson has won six state championships and been state runner-up five times in its school history.
“Simpson has one of the greatest football traditions for more than 50 years,” Hawkins said. “We were excited about pulling off a big win on the road.”
