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 22-3 record last week (88.0 percent) and has a 219-63 record (77.9 percent) for the season.
Clinton Christian Academy (6-4) at Tri-County Academy (9-1)
This MAIS Class 4A second round playoff game matches two highly successful and state championship coaches – CCA’s Teddy Dyess and TCA’s Philip Wasson – against each other.
Dyess, in his first season at CCA, has a 231-58 record – a 79.9 winning percentage – in 23 seasons as a head coach. He retired from public schools after 31 seasons as a coach last year, his last stop at Ridgeland High. Dyess has the second highest winning percentage of any coach in Mississippi history with more than 200 wins. Only former National Coach of the Year and Mississippi Hall of Fame member Ricky Black – who won 401 games and had an 83.3 winning percentage in 40 seasons and retired in 2020 – had a better winning percentage.
Dyess has won six state championships, two as a player at Bassfield, one as an assistant coach at Madison Central, two as a head coach at Lumberton and one as a head coach at Magee in 2020 when he went 12-0 and defeated Noxubee County 49-26 for the MHSAA Class 3A state title.
Dyess has never had a losing season at a head coach. The closest he came was in 2016 when he was 6-6 at Philadelphia. He has won at least 10 games in 15 of his 23 seasons as head coach, averaging 10 wins per season. He went five consecutive years (2009-13) without losing a region game at Philadelphia. Dyess has had two undefeated seasons and five more seasons, including four consecutive at Philly, with only one loss.
Wasson has a 139-69 career record (67.8 winning percentage) and has won three state championships (two as Washington School and one at TCA) in 18 seasons as a head coach. He has a 51-11 record (83.3 winning percentage) in five seasons at TCA. 60-41 in nine seasons at Washington. Where else did he coach.
CCA is led by senior running back Carter Wilson, 6-foot-4, 280-pound senior guard Cooper Orman, 6-2, 225-pound senior defensive end Isiah Bennett, senior outside linebacker Say Stamps and senior outside linebacker Nick Watson. Wilson has gained 784 yards this season.
TCA is led by senior wide receiver-defensive back Jacob Clearman, junior quarterback Bryce Warriner, senior defensive end Hayden Walker, junior linebackers Rhett Gray and Walker Hilderbrand.
Clearman – TCA’s version of Colorado two-way star Justin Hunter – has 1,509 yards (847 receiving yards, 371 punt return yards, 244 interception return yards and 97 rushing yards) and 14 touchdowns this season. He has 54 catches and 10 receiving TDs, fielded 10 punts, made 5 interceptions for 2 TDs and rushed 16 times for 2 TDs. He also has made 27 tackles.
Warriner has completed 131 of 244 passes (53.7 percent) for 1,872 yards and 19 TDs and only 2 interceptions and ran 81 times for 375 yards and 9 TDs.
CCA defeated Columbia 36-14 last week in the first round of the playoffs. TCA had a first-round bye and didn’t play last week. In fact, the Rebels haven’t played in two weeks because Greenville Christian forfeited due to ineligible players.
TCA will celebrate its seniors Friday since it couldn’t due to the Greenville Christian forfeit, which brings up another interesting twist to this game. First-year CCA head of school Jason Taylor will be celebrating TCA’s Senior Night with his two children, offensive lineman Reed Taylor and cheerleader captain Ivey Kirkland. Taylor was TCA’s baseball coach before taking the job at CCA.
Tri-County – whose only loss is to MHSAA Class 1A Taylorsville 40-35 – is the clear favorite and defeated CCA 45-0 a month ago at CCA. This one will be closer, but TCA shouldn’t be threatened.
Tri-County 35, Clinton Christian 14.
In other games (predicted winners in bold):
Brandon 27 (7-2) at Northwest Rankin 10 (5-4), Thursday
Clinton 3 (1-8) at Madison Central 35 (5-4), Thursday
Florence (7-3) at Provine (5-5), South Jackson Field
Forest Hill 0 (5-5) at Terry 55 (5-4), Thursday
Holmes County Central (10-0) at Canton (4-5), Thursday
Neshoba Central 16 (4-5) at Callaway 8 (4-6), Thursday, Hughes Field
Pearl 21 (6-3) at Meridian 0 (5-5), Thursday
Ridgeland 7 (3-6) at Vicksburg 20 (6-3), Thursday
Richland (6-4) at Pass Christian (7-2)
Greene County (3-6) at Raymond (5-4)
Lanier (3-7) at Poplarville (7-3)
Pelahatchie (2-8) at Heidelberg (7-3)
Collins (5-4) at Puckett (8-2)
St. Andrew’s (4-6) at Mize (7-3)
East Marion (3-7) at Velma Jackson (9-0)
Presbyterian Christian School (3-7) at Jackson Academy (7-4)
Madison St. Joseph (4-6) at Jackson Prep (8-3)
Centreville Academy (9-2) at Central Hinds (6-4)
Indianola Academy (2-9) at Canton Academy (7-3)
