Veteran sportswriter and high school football expert Robert Wilson is doing the Germany Law Firm, PLLC/Mississippi Scoreboard predictions column each week during the high school football season on teams from Hinds, Madison, and Rankin County. Wilson had a 5-6 record (45.5 percent) last week and has a 240-74 record (76.4 percent) this season.
By Robert Wilson
Hartfield Academy (6-5) vs. Jackson Academy (10-1), Saturday at 7 p.m. at Mississippi College in Clinton (livestream by raidernetwork.org).
Hartfield Academy hopes to join the other members of the MAIS Big 4 – Jackson Prep, Jackson Academy, and Madison-Ridgeland Academy – to win three consecutive state football championships when the Hawks play the Raiders for the MAIS Class 4A, Division I championship.
Prep won seven in a row from 2012-2018 and three in a row from 2006-2008, JA won three in a row from 2009-2011 and MRA won three in a row from 2019-2021.
The Hawks were coming off its best two seasons in school history, winning 26 games with only two losses and back-to-back state championships, the first time they have won state football titles.
But Hartfield, which lost talented players like 2024 Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Player of the Year Kenzy West (now at Houston), first team All-Metro Jackson stars London Simmons (now at Alabama) and Reggie Vaughn (now at Arkansas) to graduation, and with High School All-American and Auburn commitment Bralan Womack and running back-linebacker and Michigan commitment KD Catchings battling injuries and the Hawks’ difficult schedule, Hartfield lost five of its first six games.
Hartfield has bounced back with five straight wins, including last week’s 48-21 victory over Jackson Prep in the first round of the Class 4A, Division I playoffs.
Womack – who plays defensive back, wide receiver, and is a kick return specialist is rated the No. 2 player in Mississippi, the No. 1 safety and No. 12 player in the country in the Class of 2026 by 247 Sports – had a big game last week against Prep and is finally healthy. He had 156 rushing yards and two touchdowns on six carries (an average of 26 yards per carry), four catches for 40 yards, a team-high seven tackles and an interception return for 40 yards. Womack was named the Junction Deli/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Player of the Week for his outstanding performance.
Hartfield junior quarterback Ethan Elliott completed 8 of 12 passes for 102 yards and two TDs and ran nine times for 142 yards and two scores in the Prep win. Junior running back Collin McIntyre had 97 yards and one TD. Junior wide receiver Luke Wesson – son of former Major League Baseball player Barry Wesson from Brandon – had two catches for 49 yards and two TDs.
Senior defensive end Peyton Trigg had three sacks and senior linebacker Coleman Yoder had seven tackles. Senior and South Alabama commitment Teryn Green blocked a field goal attempt.
Bowman, a Montgomery, Ala., native who played football at Millsaps College, was the Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Coach of the Year after leading Hartfield to a 14-0 record and its first state football title in school history in only its third year of Class 6A two years ago. The Hawks were the first team to finish 14-0 in the largest classification in MAIS history.
Hartfield had never beaten the Big 3 6A schools before defeating Prep in the regular season three years ago. Since then, Hartfield has a 13-8 record against those three teams, 4-1 against JA, 6-4 against Prep and 3-3 against MRA.
Bowman, in his sixth season at Hartfield, has a 59-16 record, an 78.6 winning percentage.
JA is coming off a 35-0 victory over MRA in the other semifinal.
JA senior quarterback Josef Walker completed 15 of 23 passes for 266 yards and three TD passes and gained 60 yards on 11 carries and ran for another TD and JA’s defense had six turnovers and didn’t allow a score to MRA’s offense, which came in averaging 41.4 points this season.
JA won its sixth straight game since a 35-26 loss to MRA in regular season. The Raiders also defeated the Patriots for the first time in 11 meetings. JA’ s last win was a 30-7 decision in 2017.
JA also has not been in a championship game since 2020. The Raiders haven’t won a state title since Coach David Sykes led them to a three-peat from 2009-2011.
Walker – rated as the No. 7 dual threat quarterback in Mississippi in the Class of 2026 by qbhitlist.com – connected with senior wide receiver and North Carolina commitment O’Mari Johnson for a 50-yard TD pass on the first play of JA’s first drive and Walker scored on a 1-yard run for a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
JA junior defensive back Ashton Blackmon Walker, senior linebacker Jack Seward, senior defensive back Carter Mathison and senior defensive back Baird Kennedy had one interception each. Kennedy made his team-high fifth interception this season.
JA’s defense was led by senior linebacker and Tennessee commitment TJ White – No. 3 player in Mississippi and No. 5 linebacker in the country in the Class of 2026 – with nine tackles. Sophomore linebacker Adam Alexander, Mathison, junior defensive back Mari Jackson and junior Jaden Walker – Josef’s brother – had five tackles each.
In addition to Josef Walker, JA’s offense was led by Beasley with 90 rushing yards and one TD and one catch for 46 yards, junior wide receiver Vaiden Taylor with two catches for 51 yards and one TD and Johnson with one catch for 50 yards and one TD.
JA coach David Duggan, who has 38 years of experience being a college assistant coach, has a 19-5 record in his two seasons as the Raiders head coach. It is the best back to back seasons at JA since 11-2 in 2012 and 10-3 in 2013 under Coach Sykes.
JA – ranked No. 4 by Mississippi by MaxPreps behind MHSAA powers West Point, Tupelo and Oxford – ends its 14-year drought without a state title with a win over Hartfield, ranked No. 20 in Mississippi by MaxPreps.
JA 35, Hartfield 21.
Tri-County Academy (10-1) vs. Leake Academy (9-2), Thursday at 7 p.m. at Jackson Academy in Northeast Jackson (livestream by raidernetwork.org).
Tri-County will be trying to win its fourth state championship in the past five years and will be playing in its fifth consecutive state championship game in the MAIS Class 3A state title game.
And the Rebels are playing in a rematch of a regular season game when they defeated Leake 52-18 on the strength of senior running back Hayden Hunt, who came back from nagging ankle injuries to run for 235 yards and four TDs and a two-point conversion in the next to last regular season game for both teams at Tri-County in Flora.
Hunt ran behind center Parker Hancock, right guards Huston Mullin and Brantley Rivers, right tackle Chase Wasson (son of Tri-County head coach Philip Wasson), left guard Jaxton Rivers, left tackle Dalton Maddox, tight ends Crews Albritton and Luke Powers, and fullbacks Colton jones and Connor Wade.
In addition to Hunt, senior quarterback Cooper Johnson had 130 yards on 14 carries and three TDs.
Tri-County – ranked No. 1 in Class 3A by MaxPreps – has won 29 of the last 30 games (the only loss to Jackson Prep earlier this season), won 35 of the last 36 MAIS games, and won three state championships and one state runner-up finish in the past four years. Tri-County has a remarkable 61-5 record – a 92.4 winning percentage – in the last five years.
Leake – ranked No. 2 in Class 3A by MaxPreps – had beaten Tri-County in the past five meetings before this year. The team last met in 2014.
After a 6-6 tie after one quarter, Tri-County dominated the regular season 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.
Tri-County coach Philip Wasson has won five state championships (three at Tri-County and two at Washington School) and will be playing in his eighth championship game in his 20th career season.
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 in the regular season game. Tri-County sacked Wilcox three times after he had only been sacked twice in his first eight games this season.
Wilcox has completed 56.2 percent of his passes for 2,649 yards (fourth best in Mississippi, according to MaxPreps) with 33 TDs (tied for third best in Mississippi) this season.
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.
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).
Leake coach Brian Pickens has won 187 games in 24 seasons at Leake.
Other top players for Leake are junior running back Garrett Adcock, who has a team-high 1,1014 yards and 18 TDs, junior wide receiver Easton Page (a team-high 50 catches for 1,253 yards and 18 TDs), junior wide receiver Gage Warren (34 catches for 710 yards and nine TDs and senior linebacker Coby Kemp (a team-high 89 tackles).
Tri-County 35, Leake 21.
In other games (winning team in ALL CAPS):
Germantown (8-3) at TUPELO (11-1)
Brandon (6-5) at at OAK GROVE (9-3)
Neshoba Central (5-6) at RIDGELAND (10-1)
