By Robert Wilson
Longtime head football coach Joey Hawkins has always preached to his players that being in shape is so important to winning games.
Hawkins, who returned the sidelines after being retired for seven seasons, told his Columbia Academy players the same thing after he took over earlier this year.
The Cougars found out why Friday night in their season opener.
MAIS Class 4A Columbia Academy, which had won only eight games in the past four seasons, rallied in the fourth quarter for a 25-21 victory over MAIS Class 5A Natchez Cathedral before an estimated 2,000 at James E Pope Field in Columbia, one of the largest crowds in 10 years.
Cathedral took a 21-12 lead on a 100-yard interception return on the last play before halftime, but Columbia Academy kept Cathedral scoreless in the second half.
A big reason for the comeback by the Cougars was while Cathedral had multiple players getting cramps in the fourth quarter, Columbia Academy – with only 29 players – finished strong without cramping.
“We poured so much into this summer and the kids worked so hard and it paid off last night,” Hawkins said. “To win this game was so big for our team, our school and the community. It was a special win for these kids. We told the kids that although we were down by nine points at halftime, this game is 48 minutes. We were conditioned to play 48 minutes. We told them to keep playing with all their heart and good things will happen. The kids kept fighting. We could tell Cathedral was getting tired. We dominated the last 12 minutes and never cramped. We worked hard to be in shape this summer. I give a lot of credit to my assistant coaches, especially co-defensive coordinators (former Columbia Academy head coach) Jimmy Lowry (who hasn’t coached in 26 years) and Dylan Rhodes (in his fourth season at Columbia Academy). Our defense played great in the second half and kept them scoreless.”
“I’ve coached a lot of games, but this come from behind win reminded me of the 2003 state championship game when I was coaching at Jackson Academy. We trailed Jackson Prep 21-0 at halftime and beat them 27-24 in overtime. Last night was probably the best comeback of my career other than that game.”
Hawkins, an Indianola Academy alumnus, is best known for his three straight state championships at Jackson Academy from 2003-2005, is one of four coaches in MAIS history to have a three-peat at the highest classification. He has a 158-68 record, a 69.9 winning percentage, in 28 seasons, with stops at Woodland Hills Baptist Academy, JA and PCS. 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.
Sophomore Carson Stuart scored the winning touchdown with 4 minutes, 20 seconds to play and sophomore Tate English kicked the extra point for a 25-21 lead. Junior Logan Buckley and his brother, sophomore Trent Buckley, ran for TDs and freshman Bentley Myers caught a 76-yard TD pass from junior Noah Fortenberry. Myers also had a kickoff return to the Cathedral 10.
“It was a team effort,” Hawkins said. “Our offensive line took it to them in the fourth quarter. Carson, the Buckley brothers, Bentley and (senior) Jackson Speir did a great job all ran the ball hard. Our two quarterbacks – Noah and (junior) Reed Duncan – help bring us back to victory. Our linebackers, Logan Bentley and (junior) Carson Daniels, gave great effort.”
Now, Hawkins and his Columbia Academy team play MAIS Class 6A Presbyterian Christian School in Hattiesburg where Hawkins last coached. The game is in Columbia.
Said Hawkins: “We now have so much momentum going into this week’s game with PCS. Our players are looking forward to it. We are going to have a great crowd, even bigger than this one.”
