I first started covering high school football in the Mississippi Delta back in 2011 and, year after year, I see a tremendous amount of talent take the field on Friday nights.
The 2018 season was no exception as we saw schools succeed right here in our backyard, while some of our local athletes showcased their talents throughout the state.
Three high school teams — the Clarksdale Wildcats, Lee Academy Colts and Coahoma County Red Panthers — earned playoff berths.
The Wildcats advanced to the second round, which was a one-game improvement from 2017; the Colts were successful in spite of countless injuries, particularly at the quarterback position; and the Red Panthers, after a season many would hope to forget one year ago, played their best football down the stretch in 2018 to bounce back and make the playoffs under new head coach Mario Lane.
Coahoma Early College High School went from winning a combined one game in 2016 and 2017 to earning four victories in 2018. Hopefully, the Tigers can take the next step in 2019 by earning some district victories and advancing to the playoffs.
As you can see in today’s paper, the Press Register was able to give some of its biggest all-area awards to players from all four schools. That’s a testament to how widespread the talent is in Coahoma County.
Clarksdale coach Henry Johnson was named the Press Register coach of the year for several reasons. His team has been in the playoffs all six years of his tenure, the Wildcats advanced further than any team in Coahoma County in the postseason, he has produced many strong athletes on the field, and his coaching played a key role in Clarksdale’s growth in 2018.
Wildcats senior outside linebacker Kevin Smith, who played in the Mississippi/Alabama All-Star Game under Johnson in a 24-20 Mississippi win, finished the season with 94 tackles, three sacks, four pass deflections, four fumble recoveries, two caused fumbles and three touchdowns and also saw action as a wide receiver and on special teams.
Two junior college football sophomores signed scholarships to continue their careers at four-year schools last week.
Linebacker Untareo Johnson is a 2016 Coahoma Early College High School graduate and won two state and national championships at East Mississippi Community College. He signed to continue his career at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Defensive back James Washup is a 2017 Clarksdale High School graduate. After two years at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, he will be continuing his career at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Ark.
It is clear that, while the population in the Delta may be declining, we still have strong talent in the area and hard-working student-athletes. They are good kids who want to excel in the classroom, on the field and, most importantly, in life.
All too often the Delta, that includes Clarksdale and several surrounding communities, gets unfairly overlooked. Maybe it’s because the economy isn’t the greatest around here. Maybe it’s because, in spite of having many good teams and talented kids, we don’t have that championship contender year after year.
Whatever the reason, it is not a good one. The Delta deserves more respect.
When I was in McComb — located in Southwest Mississippi — for a little more than two years as sports editor for the Enterprise-Journal before returning to Clarksdale in November 2016, high school football media outlets contacted me every so often to find out how our teams were doing.
In some cases, they highlighted games I or one of our freelancers covered.
I would like to see our schools, and the Delta in general, get more respect in areas extending way beyond athletics.
In the meantime, I just hope our athletes and coaches continue to work hard and realize they are making a difference in our community.
The awards — all-area and otherwise — everyone received were well-deserved and I congratulate our schools for having great football seasons in 2018.
Happy new year to everyone!
