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 10-2 record last week (83.3 percent) and has a 13-2 record (86.7 percent) for the season.
Picayune (0-0) at Brandon (0-0)
Sam Williams has come one game short of winning a state championship in each of his first two seasons as Brandon’s head coach.
Brandon lost to Madison Central 24-17 two years ago and lost to Starkville 48-32 last year in the MHSAA Class 6A state championship games. The Bulldogs were without a top running back in each of those losses, in 2021 Nate Blount was injured and in 2022 Jarvis Durr was injured and played sparingly.
Other than those two losses, Williams has an outstanding 23-3 record at Brandon. He has a 60-19 career record (a 75.9 winning percentage) in his seventh season, including a 10-3 record in one season at Ridgeland and a 27-11 record in three seasons at Pelahatchie. Williams was named the PriorityOne Bank Metro Jackson Coach of the Year in 2021 after turning around the Bulldogs with a remarkable year in his first season in Brandon. He doubled Brandon’s win total after taking over a team that had a 5-6 record in 2020.
He wants to get over the state championship hump and bring Brandon its first state title in school history. As Williams said after losing to Starkville last season, “we just have to find a way to finish that final game.”
Williams has plenty of talent to do just that. He returns six starters on offense and five on defense. Brandon had more players on the PriorityOne Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Preseason Elite 11 Team than any other school. Senior quarterback and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College commitment Landon Varnes, senior running back and Louisiana-Monroe commit Nate Blount, senior defensive end Jaeden Calender and senior kicker-punter and Hartfield Academy transfer Connor Mullins were named to the team.
Varnes completed 65.9 percent of his passes for 3,368 yards and 26 touchdowns with nine interceptions last season. Blount gained 2,103 yards on 303 carries – 6.6 yards per carry – and scored 26 touchdowns. Calender had 155 tackles (11.1 per game), 23 tackles for loss, 8 sacks for 67 yards, 22 hurries, 3 caused fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and scored 1 safety. Mullins averaged 41.6 yards on 27 punts, made 7 of 9 field goal attempts and 47 of 51 extra point attempts and had 37 touchbacks on 65 kickoffs.
But Brandon has much more. Other top returnees are junior wide receivers Quincy Phillips and Jay McQueen, sophomore offensive lineman Aydan Newell, senior defensive lineman Shawn Pickering, junior linebacker Khalil Norwood (nephew of former Brandon high school All-American, Mississippi State All-SEC performer and NFL player Jerious Norwood) and senior defensive back Jonathan Crain and sophomore defensive back Preston Ashley.
Senior offensive lineman and Mississippi Gulf Coast CC commit Cade Shivers is a transfer from Briarcrest Christian in Memphis and is expected be a key addition this season.
The season opener will be a huge test.
Picayune finished 15-0 and won its second straight MHSAA Class 5A state championship last season. The Maroon Tide come into this season with a 26-game winning streak, tied for the 14th longest active streak in the country, according to MaxPreps. Picayune’s last loss was a 27-13 decision to D’Iberville in the fourth game in 2021. Picayune is one of the winningest teams in Mississippi over the past seven seasons with an 83-14 record (83.6 winning percentage) and an average of 11.8 wins per year.
Brandon needs to keep an eye on Picayune’s two Division I commitments, defensive end Jamonta Waller (Florida) and running back-defensive back Chris Davis (Stanford).
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Waller (who wears No. 11) is rated the No. 1 player in Mississippi, No. 5 in his position in the country and No. 29 player overall in the country by 247 Sports. He has 22 Division I offers, including 12 from the SEC.
The 5-9, 175-pound Davis (who wears No. 6) is rated the No. 28 player in Mississippi by 247 Sports and has 21 Division I offers, including seven from the SEC. Davis decommitted from Ole Miss this summer and committed to Stanford.
Brandon pulls this one out on a Connor Mullins field goal in the final minutes.
Brandon 31, Picayune 28.
In other games (winners in bold):
Puckett (0-0) at Mount Olive (0-0) (Thursday)
Amite County (0-0) at Richland (0-0)
Callaway (0-0) at Provine (0-0) (Hughes Field)
Canton (0-0) at Velma Jackson (0-0)
Canton Academy (1-0) at John Milledge, Ga., Academy (1-0)
Central Hinds Academy (1-0) at Amite School Center (0-1)
Claiborne, La. (0-1) at Hillcrest Christian (0-1)
Clinton (0-0) at Warren Central (0-0)
Forest Hill (0-0) at Florence (0-0)
Germantown (0-0) at Northwest Rankin (0-0)
Hartfield Academy (2-0) at Simpson Academy (0-1)
Jackson Academy (2-0) at Pillow Academy (1-0)
Jackson Prep (1-0) at Adams County Christian School (2-0)
Lanier (0-0) at Newton (0-0)
Madison St. Joseph (1-0) at Clinton Christian (0-1)
McComb (0-0) at Jim Hill (0-0) (South Jackson Field)
Oak Forest, La. (1-0) at MRA (2-0)
Pearl (0-0) at Neshoba Central (0-0)
Pisgah (0-0) at North Forrest (0-0)
Port Gibson (0-0) at Murrah (0-0) (North Jackson Field)
Raymond (0-0) at Terry (0-0)
Ridgeland (0-0) at Harrison Central (0-0)
Salem (0-0) at McLaurin (0-0)
Tri-County Academy (1-0) at Riverfield, La. (0-1)
West Lincoln (0-0) at St. Andrew’s (0-0)
Wingfield (0-0) at Crystal Springs (0-0)
Winston Academy (1-0) at East Rankin Academy (0-1)
