Veteran sportswriter and high school football expert Robert Wilson is doing the Priority One Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard predictions column each week during the high school football season on teams from Hinds, Madison, and Rankin County. Wilson had a 14-1 record (93.3 percent) last week and has an 266-57 record (82.4 percent) this season.
Hartfield Academy (11-2) vs. Jackson Prep (12-0), Saturday, 6 p.m., at Mississippi College in Clinton
(Watch and listen at maisnetwork.org, and MEtv, listen at hartfield.live and jacksonprep.live)
The new kid on the MAIS Class 6A block – Hartfield Academy – appeared to be on the verge of beating the longtime king of MAIS football – Jackson Prep – for the second straight year on Oct. 18 at Hartfield.
Defending 6A state champion Hartfield, which defeated Prep 21-0 for the 2023 6A state title (Prep’s first shutout since 2004), was looking like it was about give Prep its first loss this season.
Hartfield dynamite senior wide receiver and University of Houston commitment Kenzy West scored his fifth touchdown of the game to give Hartfield a 45-31 lead with 6 minutes to play in the third quarter and appeared to take control of the game and gain a lot of momentum.
But Prep wasn’t done. Senior quarterback Billy Puckett scored on a 1-yard run and senior wide receiver and Air Force Academy commitment Major Quin scored on a 25-yard catch and run – set up by Prep junior defensive back Peter Primos’ interception at midfield – to tie the game at 45-45 with 2:54 to play.
After Hartfield couldn’t move the ball, Prep started its go ahead drive at the Hartfield 48 with 1:58 to play. Puckett completed a 42-yard pass to senior wide receiver Gardner Young on the Prep sidelines to the Hartfield 6 to set up the winning score. Senior running back and Arizona State baseball signee Tre Bryant – the son of former NFL kicker Matt Bryant who is used on short-yardage plays on offense – scored on a 5-yard run with 36 seconds to play to take a 51-45 lead.
Said Puckett: “For the winning drive, I gathered the offense up and told them, ‘They call this a money drive, so let’s go get our freaking money.”
On its next drive, Hartfield was only to get to midfield before time ran out and Prep’s comeback was complete.
It was Prep’s closest game of the season. Meanwhile, Hartfield dropped its second straight conference game (lost to Madison-Ridgeland Academy 44-35) after having a 21-game winning streak, the longest in Mississippi, 14 games last season and seven this season.
Puckett passed for 201 yards and one TD and ran for two TDs in the regular season win.
Prep has continued to roll, defeating MRA 42-17 the next week, Madison St. Joseph 56-12 and after a week off in the first round of the playoffs, Jackson Academy 37-0 last week in the semifinals.
To say Prep is playing well is an understatement. The Patriots have it all, a great quarterback who makes outstanding decisions, a sound running game, an efficient passing game, a stingy defense with players who run to the ball, an aggressive pass rush, tough secondary and a solid kicking game.
Prep also has a veteran coaching staff, led by head coach Doug Goodwin, who has won 267 games in his 30-year head coaching career, including a 33-5 record in his third season at Prep. He led Prep to a 12-1 record and the MAIS Class 6A state title in his first season at Prep two years ago. Goodwin brought the Patriots back from the most losses since the first year of the school in 1970 (an 8-5 record in 2022). He won 234 games in 27 seasons in Alabama, is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and was the first football coach in Alabama to take three different schools to state championship games. Goodwin led Demopolis to an undefeated season and a state title and set a state record with 761 points in 2008. He also had four state runner-up finishes.
In addition to Goodwin, Prep defensive coordinator Nick Brewer is known as one of the best defensive coaches in Mississippi and has been a part of 13 state titles since he came to Prep in 1999.
One of the best areas for Prep is its offensive line this season. Led by 6-foot-8, 315-pound senior tackle and Baylor commitment Matthew Parker and 6-6, 315-pound senior tackle Duke commitment Cole Allen (rated No. 20 and No. 21 respectively in Mississippi in the Class of 2025 in Mississippi by 247 Sports and No. 2 and 3 among offensive tackles) – did a splendid job opening holes for Prep’s running backs and protecting Puckett against Hartfield’s defensive front, led by Arkansas commitment Reginald Vaughn (6-3, 270) and Alabama commitment London Simmons (6-3, 290), two of the top four defensive linemen in Mississippi.
Prep was especially effective in the fourth quarter, controlling the line of scrimmage against Vaughn and Simmons, who also started on the offensive line, two of seven Hartfield players who started both ways. Prep had TD drives of 54 yards, 42 yards and 48 yards on its last three possessions of the game.
Hartfield also had 13 penalties for 152 yards and the Hawks, who started seven players both ways, seemed to be fatigued in the fourth quarter.
The Prep comeback overshadowed tremendous performances by West and junior wide receiver-defensive back Bralan Womack – both Division I prospects who dazzled the crowd with their incredible moves, ability to avoid would tacklers, make outstanding catches and make solid plays on defense – and senior quarterback Cayman Tapper. West – rated No. 15 in Mississippi in the Class of 2025 by 247 Sports – caught 11 passes for 162 yards and two TDs and ran for three TDs.
Womack – rated the top safety in the country in the Class of 2026 by 247 Sports – caught 10 passes for 180 yards and one TD.
Tapper completed 26 of 44 passes for a career-high 434 yards and five TDs.
West, Womack, Simmons and Vaughn are the top four stars, but Hartfield has plenty more talent at other positions. And now, they are playing well in the second half and not getting tired and Simmons and Vaughn aren’t playing as much on the offensive line, and are fresher to make plays on the defensive side. They played well in last week’s 17-14 win over MRA in the semifinals.
Hartfield head coach Craig Bowman is in his fifth year and was last year’s PriorityOne Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Coach of the Year after leading the Hawks to a 14-0 record and the first state championship in school history.
Prep, with 36 seniors, is looking to finish with an undefeated season for the first time since Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame member and former National Coach of the Year Ricky Black led the Patriots to a 13-0 season and the state title in 2017.
Prep 35, Hartfield 21.
Tri-County Academy (12-0) vs. Bowling Green, La. (8-3), Friday, 7 p.m., at Jackson Academy
(Watch and listen at maisnetwork.org, listen at WYAB, 103.9 FM)
Tri-County’s offensive line paved the way for 225 rushing yards and led the Rebels to a 26-13 victory over Bowling Green for the MAIS Class 4A state championship last season.
Now, Tri-County goes for repeat in a rematch of last year’s title game.
Tri-County will be going after its seventh state crown in school history and third in four seasons. This is the fourth consecutive year the Rebels have made the championship game. Tri-County has a remarkable 50-4 record – a 92.6 winning percentage – in the last four years.
Tri-County has the longest active winning streak in Mississippi at 18 games. The Rebels have won 24 straight games against MAIS opponents, the last loss was to Greenville St. Joseph in the 2022 state championship game. Tri-County’s only loss last season was a 40-35 decision to MHSAA Class 1A power Taylorsville, the first time Tri-County had played a public school in football in school history.
The Rebels are led on offense by senior quarterback Bryce Warriner, senior wide receivers Brayden Walsh and Hayden Smith and junior running back Hayden Hunt, senior running back Rhett Gray and junior running back Cooper Johnson. Senior linebacker Walker Hilderbrand and Walsh at safety are key defensive players.
Tri-County coach Philip Wasson will be going after his fifth state title (he has won two at Tri-County and two at Washington School) and this is his seventh state championship games in 19 career seasons.
Second-year Bowling Green coach Jason Johnson has his team back in the championship game for the second straight year. He took a team that had didn’t win a game three years ago to the state championship game and a 9-4 record last season. It was the first appearance in a state title game since 2000. Bowling Green has won one state title in 1997.
He has the majority of his team back from last year.
Tri-County 21, Bowling Green 7
Germantown (7-4) at Madison Central (9-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
(Watch and listen on germantownathletics.com and mcbigblue.com and Supertalk Mississippi WFMN 97.3 FM)
Madison Central sophomore Ross Hardin Beavers kicked a 42-yard field goal with three seconds to play in the Jaguars’ 31-28 victory over the Mavericks Oct. 25 at Madison Central in the regular season.
The game was tied at 28-28 and Germantown punted to the Madison Central 5 with a minute to play. It appeared that the game was about to go into overtime, but Madison Central senior running back Glen Singleton broke several tackles and ran for 60 yards. Then the Jaguars moved into field goal range and Beavers made the winning kick.
The game was the closest Germantown has come to beating its Madison County rival. The Jaguars have won all six meetings, 36-23 in 2019, 38-6 in 2020, 31-0 in 2021, 35-6 in 2022, 49-0 last season and this year. Before then, Germantown was in a smaller classification.
This is the most wins for Madison Central since the Jaguars won the state championship and finished 13-1 record in 2021 in coach Toby Collums’ first season in Madison.
Madison Central – which had 12 returning starters from last year’s team, which reached the 7A state semifinals before losing to Starkville – will try to take another step toward the state title against Germantown in the quarterfinals.
The Jaguars’ top players are senior tight end and Florida commitment Micah Jones, senior running back Glen Singleton, senior wide receivers Zay Hart and Ryan Delaney, senior linebackers Titus Amos, Myles Miller and Avery Jackson and senior defensive backs Marquis Williams and Calvion Johnson.
Jones is rated the No. 17 player in Mississippi and the No. 40 tight end in the country by 247 Sports Composite. He is a member of the Performance Therapy/Mississippi Scoreboard Preseason Elite 11 Team. In addition to Florida, Jones has Division I offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama, Arkansas, LSU, Missouri, West Virginia, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Memphis, Tulane, and Charlotte.
Collums was named the Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Football Coach of the Year in 2020 at Northwest Rankin before he left for Madison Central.
Germantown has clinched its first winning season since joining MHSAA’s largest class in 2019, then Class 6A and now in its second year of 7A. The Mavs have 10 returning starters from last year’s team, which finished 5-6.
Germantown is led by senior wide receiver and South Alabama commitment Trae Stevenson, a member of the Performance Therapy/Mississippi Scoreboard Preseason Elite 11 Team who set single season school records with 49 receptions for 869 yards and eight touchdowns last season. Stevenson is rated No. 36 and the fourth highest wide receiver in Mississippi in the Class of 2025 by 247 Sports. Also back is senior running back Ny Johnson, senior offensive tackle Ryan White Jr. (this week’s Junction Deli/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Player of the Week).
Junior quarterback King White and junior wide receiver Keyshaun Coleman, both transfers from Madison St. Joseph, have made big contributions.
The top returnees on defense are two seniors, cornerback Tiger Esco and inside linebacker Banks Polk, and junior nose guard Dillion Travis.
Another addition has been talented Mikey Johnson, a junior who transferred from Vicksburg High and has made immediate impact for Germantown at defensive back. His father, Trey Johnson played pro basketball and was also selected in the Major League Baseball draft out of high school. He is now assistant men’s basketball coach at Jackson State.
Germantown’s Russell Mitchell is in his third season as head coach. He has been a part of a state or national championship team in seven of his 21 seasons of being a coach. Not many coaches in Mississippi can say that.
Mitchell was the quarterback coach at Pearl River Community College in 2004 when they won the national junior college championship. He was also the quarterback coach at Pearl River Community College for four consecutive state titles from 2003-2006. Mitchell was the offensive coordinator for Picayune High when they won the MHSAA Class 5A state title in 2011 and 2013. He was the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach on Oak Grove’s MHSAA Class 6A state title team in 2020. Mitchell was at Oak Grove for six seasons.
Madison Central 28, Germantown 24.
In other games (winners in bold):
Petal (8-4) at Brandon (10-1)
Canton (8-3) at Cleveland Central (11-0)
Velma Jackson (10-1) at Taylorsville (6-5)
