Football championships for the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) get underway Wednesday night and roll throughout the weekend with games being held at Jackson Academy and Mississippi College.
The headliner of the group will be Hartfield Academy (6-5) and Jackson Academy (10-1) competing for the MAIS Class 4A Division I state championship on Saturday night. The game will be played at 7 p.m. and broadcast on SuperTalk Jackson.
Hartfield, after an atypical 1-5 start to the season, has bounced back in a big way. Finishing the regular season with a 5-5 mark, the Hawks and head coach Craig Bowman blew out Jackson Prep in the semifinals to advance to a third straight title game, winning the program’s first two in 2023 and 2024.
“It’s wild. I’ve actually reflected a little bit more this week on that feat. It’s something to be really proud of,” Bowman said. “To make it to this game is what you want for your kids, and it’s special to be back. This is going to be a group, no matter what the outcome is Saturday night, that we point back to team after team after team.”
The Hawks are led by junior quarterback Ethan Elliott and a handful of FBS-destined players in wide receiver and safety Bralan Womack (Auburn), running back and linebacker KD Catchings (Michigan), defensive back Tonka Green (South Alabama), and defensive end Peyton Trigg (undecided). Others such as running back Colin McIntyre, defensive back and wide receiver Logan Drummond, tight end Luke Wesson, and linebackers Coleman Williams and Coleman Yoder have been integral to the Hawks’ late-season resurgence.
Jackson Academy, on the other hand, is in the midst of what second-year coach David Duggan hopes will be a corner-turning season. While the Raiders have been consistent in finishing above .500 since their last title in 2011 – the final year of a three-peat – they haven’t been able to break through and return an otherwise historic program back to the top.
The Raiders are led by senior quarterback Josef Walker – the No. 7 dual threat in Mississippi – and has a handful of star teammates: Tennessee defensive line commit Dereon Albert, Tennessee linebacker commit TJ White, Mississippi’s top offensive line prospect Caden Moss, and wide receiver Omar’i Johnson, who recently decommitted from Bill Belichick and North Carolina.
But before we can get to that 4A title game between Hartfield and JA, plenty of other championships are happening, especially with a new MAIS model that includes divisions within classifications. The full schedule is as follows:
Wednesday (at Jackson Academy)
- Class 1A Division I: River Oaks (La.) (10-0) vs. Humphreys Academy (11-1) at 6 p.m.
Thursday (at Jackson Academy)
- Class 3A Division II: Adams Christian (10-3) vs. Marshall Academy (10-2) at 3 p.m.
- Class 3A Division I: Tri-County Academy (10-1) vs. Leake Academy (9-2) at 7 p.m.
Friday (at Jackson Academy)
- Class 1A Division II: DeSoto (Ark.) (9-2) vs. Tallulah (La.) (8-5) at 10:30 a.m.
- Class 2A Division II: Centreville Academy (11-1) vs. Lee Academy (8-3) at 3 p.m.
- Class 4A Division II: Parklane Academy (10-1) vs. Heritage Academy (10-2) at 7 p.m.
Saturday (at Mississippi College)
- Class 2A Division II: Winston Academy (4-8) vs. Oak Hill Academy (9-3) at 11 a.m.
- Class 4A Division III: Lamar School (8-4) vs. Brookhaven Academy (8-4) at 3 p.m.
- Class 4A Division I: Jackson Academy (10-1) vs. Hartfield Academy (6-5) at 7 p.m.
Scores from all the games can be kept up with here.