It's a VERY good year for college football in the Magnolia State.
Ole Miss is in the Top 10. Mississippi State was ranked earlier in the season. Unbeaten Jackson State is fifth in FCS and Delta State sixth in Division II.
But it is in junior colleges that Mississippi really shines. Once again Mississippi is producing the nation's best junior college football with five teams in the top 17.
Unbeaten Northwest is third, Jones seventh, Gulf Coast 12th, East Mississippi 14th and Pearl River 17th.
This is no one-time occurrence.a Mississippi schools have won 14 national championships, seven since 2011.
East Mississippi is a five-time winner, Gulf Coast and Northwest three each, Hinds, Mississippi Delta and Pearl River one each.
That's a testament to the high school football talent in the state because Mississippi junior college teams are limited to four out-of-state players on their rosters.
How is it possible for a state with less than one percent of the nation’s population to have so much success? Rickey Neaves, executive director of the Mississippi High School Activities Association, said “Football is a passion here. It starts at an early age. And we have a lot of athletic ability in our state.”
Buddy Stephens, coach of those five East Mississippi championship teams, attributed the success to coaching at the high school level.
The book and movie “Friday Night Lights” is located in Texas. But it could just as easily been Mississippi where in towns big and small, Friday nights in the fall means one thing — high school football.
This year’s Mississippi junior college championship game will be Saturday in Senatobia between Northwest and East Mississippi. Northwest put together a 92-yard fourth quarter TD drive to defeat Jones 38-35 last Saturday in the semifinals. East Mississippi advanced with a 38-27 victory over Gulf Coast.
