Published: December 02, 2009 09:30 am      

Bishop Column: Durant’s Kuhn has several title game connections

Durant High School head football coach Ashley Kuhn will be interested in at least four of the six MHSAA State Championship Games being played this week at the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson.

Without a doubt the one he cares about the most kicks off at 7 p.m. on Thursday and features his Tigers of Durant taking on Mount Olive for the MHSAA Class 1A State Championship.

Before taking the head job at Durant, Kuhn served as offensive coordinator for two years at Lafayette County and before that he was an assistant for eight years at West Point, the last five serving as offensive coordinator.

Lafayette County will take on St. Stanislaus at 3 p.m. Saturday for the 4A title, while West Point faces Wayne County at 7 p.m. Saturday for the 5A crown.

"I've got a lot of friends at both of those places and know a lot of the players," Kuhn said. "It's a really neat thing for them to be down here (in Jackson) at the same time.

"I worked with some really good coaches," he said. "Coming from two of the best programs in the state has to help you. Everything I have learned comes from being other coaches and other programs.

And of course, he will also be interested in how Ackerman does against Bassfield on Friday at 3 p.m. in the 2A title game since it was the Indians that handed his Tigers their only loss this season.



TITLE GAMES SET FOR TV

For the third consecutive season prep football fans will be able to watch all of the MHSAA State Football Championship Games live on Mississippi Public Broadcasting television.

The big difference is that this year there will be six games instead of five, since the MHSAA expanded to six classifications beginning with the 2009-10 school season. The play-by-play will be handled by Russ Robinson.

All six games will be played at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, with one game on Thursday, two on Friday and three on Saturday.

The action begins at 7 p.m. on Thursday with Mount Olive facing Durant for the Class 1A title. Friday's games have Bassfield taking on Durant for the MHSAA Class 2A title at 3 p.m. and Oak Grove taking on South Panola at 6 p.m. in the 6A championship contest.

Saturday's play begins with the 3A game between Aberdeen and Tylertown at 11 a.m., while Lafayette County and St. Stanislaus meet at 3 p.m. in Class 4A. The Class 5A contest wraps up the weekend at 7 p.m. and features Wayne County against West Point.



MOUNT OLIVE

CONNECTION

While Oak Grove wide receiver Steve McNair Jr. was obviously thrilled to have his Warriors playing in the state championship on Friday night, there is no doubt who his second-favorite team will be this weekend.

Mount Olive, the school McNair transferred from after his sophomore season, will be facing Durant for the MHSAA Class 1A title at 7 p.m. on Thursday night.

"I am excited for them," he said. "I've been growing up with them and now they are here with me in the same building and they are in the championship just like we are, so it's a great feeling for me," he said during Monday's MHSAA press conference at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in Jackson.

The feeling is mutual.

"He was a good player and he could have helped us a lot," said Mount Olive quarterback Ruben Duckworth. "But we are happy for him that he made it to state."

First-year Mount Olive head coach Perry Murphy said he got to see firsthand how close McNair is with his former teammates.

"Steve Jr. came by some in the summer and two of the open dates they had at Oak Grove this season he was here watching us," Murphy said. "I think a part of him is still in Mount Olive and is pulling for us and they are pulling for him."

Murphy said he sometimes wonders what it would have been like to have had McNair on his team this season.

"It would have been great to have him from a coach's point of view," he said. "Our kids understand he was with them at one time and now he's not and they just have to move on.”



KEEPING THE MONEY AT HOME

Fans are urged to buy their tickets to this week's championship games from one of the 12 schools involved.

Pre-purchased tickets are just $10, while the cost at the gate in Jackson will be $12.

But even more important than that to the individual teams, the schools will able to keep half of money made off pre-purchased tickets. The Class 6A and 5A schools are being encouraged to pre-sale 3,000 tickets each, 4A and 3A 2,000 and 2A and 1A 1,000. The ticket is good for only one game. The stadium will be cleared after each contest and another ticket will be needed to re-enter.



MEMORIES OF KOSY

Mount Olive head coach Perry Murphy, whose Pirates face Durant for the 1A title on Thursday night, was an assistant coach at Kosciusko High School during the 1980s.

He was an assistant under head coach David Abercrombie during the 1984 and 85 seasons and served with Jeff Terrill from 1986-89.

"We were very fortunate to have a lot of really good players while I was there and we had a lot of success," Murphy said.



SOUTH PANOLA AN UNDERDOG?

Despite winning 89 straight football games and five straight Class 5A titles it seems that a loss to Meridian in the 2008 championship game and a 21-19 regular season loss to Memphis University School in the third game of the season this year, tossed South Panola under the prep football radar in the state.

All of the sudden Madison Central became the team to beat. That's something South Panola coach Lance Pogue said his team relished.

"Madison had been put in the spotlight and rightfully so," Pogue said. "We knew we were young starting out, but we knew if we could stick together and get a little seasoning and a little experience we could be really good this time of year. It's just really fortunate it happened that way for us."

Pogue said he is not concerned with his team overlooking Oak Grove, while celebrating its 36-21 win last week over Madison Central.



REMEMBERING THE PAST

The Warriors of Oak Grove have played for a state championship once before, that being in 2003 when they fell to South Panola 33-14.

It was the first of South Panola's five consecutive MHSAA Class 5A State Championships.

Oak Grove went into that game with a 14-0 record and beat Gulfport (41-14), Meridian (31-16) and Picayune (24-20) to reach the title game.

While Oak Grove head coach Nevil Barr said he would love to have a state championship trophy in his office, he said he doesn't need one to validate his career.

"There is no question it would be a great thing, but for me personally, the honor of coaching these young people for 35 years is what it is all about," he said. "Whether or not I ever win it, it will not take away that experience.

"But, I do want to win it," he quickly added.



HE NEVER CONSIDERED IT

There were many rumors circulating that Oak Grove quarterback James McMahon may not come back to finish out his senior football season after suffering a shoulder injury in the first game of the season against Bassfield.

The talk centered around McMahon's future being in baseball. The talented diamond star has already signed to play for Mississippi State, but he said he wasn't about to skip out on his team.

"I love football too much," McMahon said. "It's my last year. I had to have surgery if wanted to finish the year. I really wanted to play so that's what I did, and it turned out well."