By Robert Wilson
After not scoring, having the ball only about four minutes in the first two quarters with halftime coming soon, defending MAIS Class 4A state champion Tri-County Academy desperately needed a spark.
Senior quarterback Bryce Warriner and junior wide receiver Peyton Patridge gave the Rebels a huge one.
Warriner connected with Patridge for a 45-yard touchdown pass with 1 minute, 3 seconds to play in the second quarter to ignite Tri-County and the Rebels dominated the second half for a 27-3 victory over Bowling Green, La., for their second straight 4A state title and third in four seasons in a rematch of last year’s state championship game Friday night before an estimated 3,000 at Jackson Academy’s Brickyard in Northeast Jackson.
Tri-County finished 13-0 and extended its winning streak to 19 games – the longest active winning streak in Mississippi – with the win. The Rebels won their seventh state crown in school history. This was the fourth consecutive year the Rebels have made the championship game. Tri-County has a remarkable 51-4 record – a 92.7 winning percentage – in the last four years.
Tri-County has won 25 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.
Bowling Green, looking for its second MAIS title in school history (first one in 1997), finished 8-4. Bowling Green lost to Tri-County 26-13 last year in the state title game, the first appearance in the championship game since 2000.
Tri-County coach Philip Wasson won his fifth state title (three at Tri-County and two at Washington School) and played in his seventh championship game in 19 career seasons.
While Warriner and Patridge gave Tri-County a spark, senior running back Hayden Hunt kept the flame lit in the second half. Hunt finished with 149 yards on 15 carries and two TDs, runs of 55 yards and 18 yards for Tri-County final two scores.
Senior running back Rhett Gray ran for a 1-yard TD to give Tri-County a 14-3 lead with 7:55 to play in the third quarter.
Bowling Green’s game plan of ball control offense – using its double wing offense with fullback Bubby Bryant (20 carries for 99 yards) – worked in the first half, controlling the ball for the majority of the first half and led 3-0 on a 39-yard field goal by Alex Brock with 5:37 to play in the first quarter.
But when Warriner found Patridge, who made an over the shoulder catch near the end zone, all that momentum switched over the Tri-County.
“Hats off to Bowling Green’s offense,” Wasson said. “We only had the ball for three possessions in the first half. Their fullback, Bubby, did a great job running the ball and their quarterback would pull it and make plays as we were so focused on the fullback. Bryce threw a bomb right before the half to Peyton to take the lead.”
“We started off slow and Bowling Green came out playing really hard on both sides of the ball,” Warriner said. “The thing that really gave us momentum was our first TD to Peyton. On film, we saw one of their defensive backs would sometimes peak at the run and come up. Peyton ran a fade and Hayden and I had a play action run fake. We caught him take about one step up and that was all Peyton needed to get separation and from there it was to the house. It really set everything in motion on offense for the rest of the game because I know their coach and DBs had to be thinking we would eventually go back to that. It also really hyped up our defense and they played lights out after that.”
“We told our players at halftime, it’s a board drill game,” Wasson said. “Get your pad level down and hit someone in the mouth. We don’t have any time to look around wondering who has the ball. We only have time to beat the guy in front of you and it’s simple as that. We only ran 38 plays on offense, and we usually run 70 plus every Friday night. So getting Bowling Green off the field was the main task.”
Tri-County’s defense held Bowling Green scoreless and only 70 total yards in the second half.
“Our players played a lot more physical in the second half,” Wasson said. “Sophomore defensive end Crews Albritton had a monster night. Colton Jones sealed it with a pick in the fourth quarter.”
“Our coaches made some great adjustments at halftime and really dominated the rest of the game,” said Warriner said. “We’ve been to the state championship for the last four years and we’ve won three of them. None of that was by luck. We’ve earned every bit of these wins, grinding throughout the offseason.”
“Bryce made another long throw to get us in scoring position (45 yards to senior Brayden Walsh) and then we got in our heavy package and turn the game into running it every play,” Wasson said. “Hayden and Rhett ran the ball really good. Our offensive line finished the game along with fullbacks Brayden Walsh and Colton Jones. I’m proud of our players and coaches. I love our coaches and players and coach them hard. These seniors finished their career with three championships.”
Warriner completed 3 of 6 passes for 99 yards and one TD. He finished the season with 1,366 yards and 15 TDs. Warriner – who has offers from Coahoma Community College, East Central CC and Northwest Mississippi CC – finished his career with 5,964 yards and 71 TDs. Hunt finished with 1,803 yards and 23 TDs this season.
Walsh led Tri-County with 13 tackles. Albritton had seven tackles and senior linebacker Walker Hilderbrand had six.
Second-year Bowling Green coach Jason Johnson had 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.
