By Robert Wilson
Terry won its first region football game since 2018 with a come-from-behind, 29-28 victory over Meridian Friday night in Meridian.
And senior middle linebacker Ira Porter was a huge reason why Terry won its first Class 6A, Region 3 game to break a six-game losing streak and a 20-game on-the-field losing streak.
Porter had 16 tackles with 2 fumble recoveries and 2 forced fumbles to help Terry to break a 14-game losing streak to Meridian.
For his outstanding performance, Porter has been named the Junction Deli/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Football Player of the Year.
“We would not have won this game without Ira,” second-year Terry coach Kris Thigpen said. “He is a valuable asset to our team. Ira is our leader on defense and makes all the defensive calls for us. He’s physical and has great instincts. Ira loves the game of football. In my 11 years as a coach, Ira plays as hard as any player I’ve ever coached. He’s a great competitive spirit.”
So did Thigpen. He was the starting quarterback for Taylorsville, one of the best football programs in Mississippi. Thigpen was a sophomore and led Taylorsville to the state championship in 2002 and also played for Jones College and Jackson State.
Porter had possibly the biggest defensive play of the game Friday night when he caused a fumble at the Terry 15 midway through the fourth quarter to stop a potential scoring drive, which could have put Meridian up 35-22.
Porter has a team-high 88 tackles, 7 for loss, 3 caused fumbles, 2 fumbled recoveries, 1 sack and 1 interception this season.
Terry, 2-7 overall and 1-5 in region play, plays host to Petal, 4-6 and 1-5, Thursday night at Terry in the final regular season game for both teams. Terry, which hasn’t hasn’t had a winning season since 2006, has never beaten Petal in 10 meetings.
Mississippi Scoreboard selects a football player from Hinds, Madison, or Rankin counties each week. Coaches can nominate a player by text or call to Robert Wilson at 601.506.2276 or email [email protected].
