On the back of three rushing touchdowns from J.J. Hill, the Tupelo Golden Wave defeated the Madison Central Jaguars 21-3 on Friday night to advance to the 7A state title matchup against the Brandon Bulldogs.
Hill broke the scoring open late in the first quarter with a 71-yard touchdown scamper that saw him bounce off multiple defenders on his way to the promised land. The junior running back spoke candidly about his mindset going into the final week of the 2024 MHSAA football season.
“[My teammates] know our goal every week is to go 1-0,” said Hill. “We’re going to come to practice every day and practice hard. We’ve got one more game, and we’ve got to get it. We’ve got to finish.”
When Tupelo Head Coach Ty Hardin took the job from Houston High School, he knew that Tupelo was a “sleeping giant.” Now, just a few seasons later, Hardin and the Golden Wave have made it over the hump in the postseason, and they don’t plan on looking back.
“I knew this place was a sleeping giant,” said Hardin. “This is my wife’s home town. I grew up 30 minutes down the road…There’s a lot of folks outside of Tupelo, Mississippi, that don’t like Tupelo, Mississippi. Folks in the metro, folks all over the state, folks don’t like us up here, and I’m a Tupelo Golden Wave now. This is my home town. I love this place.”
Hardin further explained how that kind of reputation plays into his Tupelo team’s preparation week in and week out.
“We try to go out every day and try to prove people wrong,” said Hardin. “People think we’re coddled. People think we’re kind of entitled up here, and that’s far from the truth of what these guys are and what this school is.”
Madison Central entered the contest 10-2 on the season, with one of those two losses coming in a 28-23 defeat at the hands of Tupelo earlier in the season. Since then, the Jaguars went on a tear through the rest of the team’s divisional schedule before falling in the north half matchup for the second season in a row.
Tupelo quarterback Noah Gillon transferred back to the school after a short stint at Booneville high school last season. After the game, the quarterback showed his gratitude for the opportunities that lie ahead.
“First of all, I want to give all glory and praise to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” said Gillon. “It’s been a long journey, but I’ve loved every second of it. Every hard practice, every meal with the team. I’m definitely going to miss it.We’ve got one more week to celebrate. I came here to win, and we’re undefeated. It’s been one heck of a season.”
Coach Hardin said that his team will begin a modified practice week as early as Sunday in preparation for the team’s matchup with Brandon. The 7A state title game will take place in Hattiesburg late next week. At the time of this article’s writing, a game time has yet to officially be announced, per the MHSAA website.
