By Robert Wilson
Baker Craig didn’t play football for Park Place Christian Academy due to shoulder surgery last season and wasn’t a starter going into preseason practice this season.
But the 5-foot-8, 155-pound sophomore worked his way into the starting lineup and had the best game of his young career last week.
Craig gained 270 yards on 19 carries – 14.2-yard average – and scored three touchdowns, caught two passes for 51 yards and two TDs, scored two 2-point conversions and had a fumble recovery for a 20-yard gain and led Park Place to a 64-30 victory over Kemper Academy in MAIS non-district, eight-man game at Kemper in DeKalb.
For his outstanding accomplishment, Craig has been named the Junction Deli/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Football Player of the Week.
Craig scored on runs of 95, 35 and 13 yards and caught TD passes of 34 and 17 yards.
He has 990 combined rushing and receiving yards and has scored nine rushing and four receiving TDs this season.
“Baker is a fierce competitor,” said Park Place coach Jason Cook, who doubles as the school’s head of school. “He plays multiple sports (football, basketball, baseball and track), and he excels in all of them. Baker plays with no fear, and he expects to make the play when the game is tight and when many players shrink in the face of pressure.
“It runs in the family. Baker’s older brother, senior Jake Craig, plays receiver and defensive back for the Crusaders. Jake is the team leader. Our football program had to shut down due to attrition early in the 2022 season. Jake is the reason that our program is being revived. He called the few players that we had left, and he recruited in the hallways and classrooms to get more players out so that we could get the program back up and running so that he and others could play for PPCA their senior season.”
Baker Craig is the son of Jay and Stacy Craig and Meg and Dave Rushing. In addition of his brother Jake, Craig has a younger sister, Remy, who is a sixth grader at Park Place.
Park Place, 3-5, plays host to Newton County Academy, 9-1, Friday at Park Place in Pearl.
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.
2023 POW winners:
Week One: John White, MRA
Week Two: Jacob Clearman, Tri-County Academy
Week Three: Ryan McCall, Madison Central
Week Four: Brayden Bullock, Central Hinds Academy
Week Five: Nate Blount, Brandon
Week Six: John White, MRA
Week Seven: Tyler Arrington, Wingfield
Week Eight: Damarion Snow, Pelahatchie
Week Nine: Ny Johnson, Germantown
