The Central Holmes Christian School football team will try to get in the win column this week as they host MAIS Class 5A East Rankin Academy on Friday
CHCS head coach Mitch Womack said he’s not sure what to expect from the Patriots, a team the Trojans beat 35-0 last year.
“They have a new coaching staff and I don’t really know what to expect from them. I know they had some good players last year. They are another 5A school and they are going to be well coached. You generally make your biggest improvement from week one to week two and that’s what we are hoping for this week. We just have to match their intensity. I think we will be pretty evenly matched and I’m expecting a good game.”
The new head coach is Brad Breland, who was the longtime coach at Union High School before retiring from the public school system at the end of the last school year.
— Robbie Robertson
BIG MAIS WEEKEND AHEAD
The Mid-South Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) played football this past weekend. There were several regular season games and also jamborees throughout the state. This Friday, we will get to see a Texas vs. Mississippi clash in Madison. NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders will bring his Trinity Christian team to defending Class 6A state champion Madison Ridgeland Academy.
The Dallas school is the defending Private and Parochial Division II state champ of Texas and has gone 40-2 over the last three years. Deion’s son Shedeur passed for 47 touchdowns and was only intercepted four times last year.
— Dale McKee
EMCC NOT PLAYING IN FALL
The East Mississippi Community College Department of Athletics, with the support of the EMCC Board of Trustees, individually elected not to participate in fall football should the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference begin league play Oct. 1 as previously announced. As a result, EMCC is currently withdrawing from league play for the fall 2020 season due to safety challenges created by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“The well-being of my players will always come first,” EMCC Head Coach Buddy Stephens said. “There are too many unknowns to put in front of our players moving forward at this time. We must make this incredibly heart-breaking decision to not participate in the fall 2020 season.”
MACCC Commissioner Steve Martin said, “Player safety is of the utmost concern. We understand the decision made by East Mississippi Community College and support their stance.”
With spring play uncertain, EMCC will honor student athlete scholarships. Student athletes will remain enrolled in classes either virtually or in person as full-time students and will retain access to facilities and support services, ensuring that student athletes remain on track academically.
— David Rosinski
REBELS OPEN WITH FLORIDA
The Southeastern Conference announced a revised 2020 football schedule Monday that will see Ole Miss open league play Sept. 26 against Florida at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
The Sept. 26 opener will be the 25th all-time meeting between Ole Miss and Florida and the first time since 1948 that the two squads have met in a season opener. The Rebels lead the all-time series vs. the Gators 12-11-1.
After the season opener vs. Florida, the Rebels will travel to Lexington to square off against SEC East foe Kentucky (Oct. 3). Ole Miss hosts Alabama (Oct. 10) before hitting the road to take on Arkansas (Oct. 17) in Fayetteville. The Rebels close out the month of October with a home contest vs. Auburn (Oct. 24), followed by trip up north to face Vanderbilt (Oct. 31).
Ole Miss will have an open date to begin November before playing host to South Carolina (Nov. 14). The Rebels will battle Texas A&M (Nov. 21) in College Station, Texas, prior to hosting Mississippi State (Nov. 28) in the annual Battle for the Golden Egg. Ole Miss will wrap up its regular season with a road contest against defending national champions LSU (Dec. 5).
The SEC Football Championship Game is scheduled to be played Dec. 19 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, rescheduled from the original date of Dec. 5.
— School Reports
USM LOSES SEPT. 19 GAME
The University of Southern Mississippi found out that Tennessee Tech would not be able to play on September 19 because their league, the Ohio Valley Conference, was cancelling fall sports. Delta State and Mississippi College are also cancelling all fall sports until at least January 1. Entering the week, 53 of the 130 football bowl subdivision teams have cancelled fall sports.
— Dale McKee
MSU SCHEDULE RELEASED
The Southeastern Conference unveiled its revised 2020 10-game, conference-only football schedule Monday night. All home and away locations for each opponent remained the same, however dates were adjusted.
Mississippi State is set to kick-off its 2020 slate on Sept. 26 against LSU at Tiger Stadium.
Under the revised schedule, the Bulldogs will host Arkansas (Oct. 3), Texas A&M (Oct. 17), Vanderbilt (Nov. 7), Auburn (Nov. 14) and Missouri (Dec. 5) at Davis Wade Stadium, while making trips to LSU (Sept. 26), Kentucky (Oct. 10), Alabama (Oct. 31), Georgia (Nov. 21) and Ole Miss (Nov. 28).
State's schedule includes open dates on Oct. 24 and Dec. 12.
Kickoff times and television information will be released in the future. No decisions have been made on fan attendance at Davis Wade Stadium at this time. That information will be provided once those details are determined.
— Brandon Langlois
