Kosciusko and McAdams will conclude spring practice by facing actual competition Friday.
Kosciusko hosts a jamboree Thursday and Friday beginning with Newton vs. Choctaw County at 5 p.m. Thursday, followed by Leake Central vs. East Webster at 7 p.m. On Friday, it will be Choctaw Central vs. Yazoo County at 5 and Columbus vs. Kosciusko at 7.
Each game will be two quarters of regulation time, followed by a 20-minute junior varsity game with a running clock.
McAdams will scrimmage West Lowndes and Okolona at West Lowndes Friday.
“Spring is aways an interesting time,” said Kosciusko coach Casey Orr. “You know what you are going to get out of your older guys. You want to figure out where the younger guys fit it. Find out what they can do. What positions they fit in.”
Kosciusko has had nearly 100 players at spring practice with varsity and JV.
McAdams is much smaller, about 25. But that’s a welcome sign after a 2022 season when numbers was a major problems. Injuries to some key players reduced the roster to 12 at one point.
In his second season as Bulldog coach, Roy Rigsby is looking forward to not being quite as lonely on the sidelines.
Players new to the team who have looked good in practice include junior Kendrick Lusk, sophomore Kurt Mitchell and eighth grader Willie Nash. Lusk and Mitchell are wide receivers and defensive backs Nash a two-way lineman.
Rigsby is also looking forward to having Zyion Christian at running back for a full season, He was lost early in 2022 with a fractured hand.
Jamar Teague, the 2022 starter, and Jay Harmon are competing at quarterback.
The larger roster will provide greater offensive flexibility. “We will run a similar style to what we had in the past, but we will add more to it,” Rigsby said.
Kosciusko and McAdams will both move to new regions in the fall under MHSAA realignment.
Kosciusko moves from 4-4A to 3-4A. Louisville will make the same move, but Kosciusko’s other region opponents — Caledonia, Greenwood and Houston — will be new.
For 1A, the number of regions will double to eight. McAdams had been in 3-1A with teams from the Delta. Instead of competing with teams west of McAdams, the Bulldogs will play schools to the east in 6-1A, including county rival Ethel. Other teams in the region are French Camp, Nanih Waiya Noxapater and Velma Jackson. Nanih Waiya and Velma Jackson drop down from 2A under realignment.
Rigsby coached at Noxapater before taking over at McAdams. “I will play my former team so I am happy about the opportunity.”
