By Robert Wilson
Leake Academy’s George Wilcox was one of the best quarterbacks in Mississippi for the past two seasons.
The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Wilcox completed 58.1 percent of his passes for 2,868 yards (fifth best in Mississippi, according to MaxPreps) with 34 TDs (tied for fourth best in Mississippi) and led Leake its second state championship in school history. He passed for a Mississippi-best 3,623 yards and 41 TDs two years ago as a junior and threw for a career-high 542 yards and nine TDs (one short of the Mississippi record) against Silliman, La., three years ago as a sophomore.
Numbers rarely seen in Mississippi.
Even though Wilcox will be throwing passes for Holmes Community College this season, don’t think the Rebels’ high-scoring offense will disappear.
Leake returns two of the most talented wide receivers in Mississippi in seniors Gage Warren and Easton Page and senior running back Garrett Adcock, who will be starting for his third year at tailback. And then there’s Majure Chandler, a 6-4, 235-pound senior quarterback who might remind high school fans of Wilcox. Chandler didn’t play last season after suffering an ACL injury against Clinton Christian in a preseason scrimmage. He was scheduled to play H back.
Leake finished 10-2 and defeated two-time defending state champion Tri-County Academy 25-24 in the MAIS Class 3A, Division I state championship game last season. Wilcox passed for 214 yards and ran a career-high 184 yards and three TDs in the state title game. Caden Stovall kicked a 27-yard field goal on the game’s final play to secure the victory.
Leake avenged a 52-18 loss to Tri-County in the next to last regular season game.
“Our kids worked really hard, and a lot of them played and lost in the state championship in 2024 and they were hungry,” said Leake coach Brian Pickens, who has won 188 games as he enters his 25th season at Leake. “They worked hard during the off season and I think they got better every week. This group this year is different. They are coming out there with a super attitude during preseason practices. This team also has good chemistry. Majure was hurt last year, but this year he’s going to be a key player in our system. We’re excited about him getting on the field. There are a lot of people saying without Wilcox, we won’t be the same. Any year you change quarterbacks, your offense will look a little bit different. Majure has his own set of strengths just like George had his own set of strengths. As a coach, you’ve got to play and know your kids’ strengths. That’s going to be a big thing with him. We took a pretty good hit on our offensive line, but we bring back a lot of skill guys. We took a pretty good hit at linebacker.”
The 6-3 Page, East Central baseball commitment, led Leake with 56 catches for 1,313 yards and 18 TDs last season. The 6-3 Warren had 41 catches for 763 yards and nine TDs. In fact, only one of the 153 passes caught by Leake receivers last year was by a senior. That’s quite a group coming back for this season. Stovall caught 22 passes for 366 yards and two TDs and had seven catches for 77 yards in the championship game along with his game-winning kick.
Adcock gained 1,023 yards, an average of 7.5 yards per carry, and 18 TDs.
Senior left tackle John David Thomas,
Senior right guard Tanner Walsworth and senior right tackle Lane Stewart return on the offensive line. Walsworth is out indefinitely with shoulder injury.
Returning starters on defense are defensive lineman Caden Monk, Joey Sockey, and Talon Dillard, linebacker Gavin Gomillion, linebacker/safety Jack Johnston, and defensive back Brennan Evans. Warren will play at times as a defensive back. He had six tackles and an interception in the state championship game.
Leake has a tough assignment Friday in its season opener, playing host to defending MAIS Class 4A, Division I state champion Jackson Academy. JA finished 11-1 and ranked No. 2 in Mississippi and No. 124 in the country by MaxPreps last season. JA defeated Leake 48-21 last season, the most points Leake allowed last year except for the loss to Tri-County.
The Raiders are led by 6-5, 320-pound senior offensive lineman and Ohio State commitment Caden Moss, ranked the No. 3 player in Mississippi and No. 7 offensive lineman in the country in the Class of 2027 by 247 Sports who has 28 Division I offers in addition to Ohio State.
Leake begins district play Sept. 18 at Heritage Academy in Columbus. Heritage finished 10-3 and was the MAIS Class 4A, Division 2 state runner-up to Parklane Academy last season.
Leake also has a rematch with Tri-County Sept. 25 at Leake in Madden. Tri-County finished 10-2, and had won 29 of its last 30 games, 35 of its last 36 MAIS games, and won three state championships and one runner-up finish in the past four years before losing to Leake in last year’s state title game. Tri-County has a 61-6 record, a remarkable 91 percent winning percentage, over the past six seasons.
