By Robert Wilson
Hayden Hunt is back.
And Leake Academy found out the hard way.
The Tri-County senior running back, who had been recovering from nagging ankle injuries, was back at full speed as he gained 235 yards and scored four touchdowns and a two-point conversion to lead the Rebels to an impressive, 52-18 victory over Leake between the top two ranked teams in MAIS Class 3A Friday night before an estimated 2,000 at Tri-County’s Joe Costello Field in Flora.
Tri-County – ranked No. 1 in Class 3A by MaxPreps – improved to 8-1. The Rebels have won 27 of the last 28 games (the only loss to Jackson Prep earlier this season), won 33 of the last 34 MAIS games, and won three state championships and one state runner-up finish in the past four years. Tri-County has a remarkable 59-5 record – a 92.1 winning percentage – in the last five years.
Leake – ranked No. 2 in Class 3A by MaxPreps – dropped to 7-2.
It was the first time Tri-County had beaten Leake since 1994. Leake had won the last five meetings. The teams last met in 2014.
After both teams scored in the first quarter for a 6-6 tie, Tri-County dominated the game, outscoring Leake 24-6 in the second quarter to take a commanding, 30-12 lead at halftime. The Rebels increased the lead to 38-12 after three quarters.
“It was a great performance by our offensive line, tight end and fullback,” said Tri-County coach Philip Wasson, who has won five state championships (three at Tri-County and two at Washington School) and has played in seven championship games in 20 career seasons. “We got extremely physical. There was no secret of what we wanted to do Friday night. We wanted to get physical and run the ball straight ahead. We stayed in a heavy package all night long with two tight ends and two fullbacks. Center Parker Hancock, right guards Huston Mullin and Brantley Rivers, right tackle Chase Wasson (son of Coach Wasson), left guard Jaxton Rivers, left tackle Dalton Maddox, tight ends Crews Albritton and Luke Powers, and fullbacks Colton jones and Connor Wade did a great job.”
And the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Hunt, who had 27 carries, ran through the open holes all night. He scored on a 60-yard run in the first quarter, a 25-yard TD run, a 3-yard TD run and a two-point conversion in the second quarter and a 52-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
“Hayden got hurt in our first game,” Wasson said. “He has played in every game but not much. He was back and feeling good last night.”
“I feel like the reason we were successful last night was because we played as a team and we made big plays when we needed,” said Hunt who now has 440 yards and seven TDs this season after getting 1,654 yards and 21 TDs last season. “Our defense played an outstanding game, too, which really helped out a lot.”
In addition to Hunt, senior quarterback Cooper Johnson had 130 yards on 14 carries and three TDs.
Tri-County’s defense slowed down Leake senior quarterback George Wilcox – one of the best quarterbacks in Mississippi.
Wilcox completed 17 of 48 passes for 233 yards and one TD. He came into the game with 1,946 yards (fifth best in Mississippi, according to MaxPreps) with 25 TDs and only five interceptions. He passed for a Mississippi-best 3,623 yards and 41 TDs last season as a junior. Wilcox threw for a career-high 542 yards and nine TDs (one short of the Mississippi record) in a win over Silliman, La., two years ago as a sophomore.
The 6-2, 225-pound Wilcox ran for a 3-yard TD in the first quarter, a 2-yard TD in the second quarter and completed a 14-yard TD pass to junior running back Garrett Adcock in the fourth quarter.
“I was so proud of our defense,” Wasson said. “Their quarterback had only been sacked twice all year and we got to him three times. He is one of the best quarterbacks I have seen in a while. We also had three interceptions. Our defense played 84 snaps.”
Tri-County senior defensive back Payton Patridge had 14 tackles and one interception, sophomore linebacker and Hayden Hunt’s brother Cade Hunt had seven tackles and one interception, senior defensive back Hunter Hilderbrand had three tackles and one interception, senior defensive end Bryce Brooks had six tackles and one sack, and junior defensive end and 2024 MAIS Class 4A Player of the Year Crews Albritton had one tackle and one sack.
Leake is looking to win its second state championship in school history. The Rebels finished 13-0 and won its only state title in 2020. They have four runner-up finishes (1974, 1975, 2010 and last season).
“Tri-County has a really good football team,” said Leake coach Brian Pickens has a 185-97 record in 24 seasons at Leake. “Coach Wasson and his staff do a really good job and they had a good game plan. They came out and got after us and I give them all the credit. We made too many mistakes to win a big game like that. We had too many drops and didn’t throw it well but they had a lot to do with that. But the biggest thing is we couldn’t get them off the field. We have to bounce back and have a really good week of practice and get ready for Central Hinds and the playoffs.”
