Congratulations to the Jackson Academy Arrows for winning the MAIS 4A State Football Champeenship Saturday night.
The Arrows thrashed two-time defending state champ Hartsfield Academy 50-14 on the gridiron at Mississippi College. The victory was another fiery step in Jackson Academy's Shermanesque march through Mississippi private school football this year. JA finished 11-1, losing only to Madison-Ridgeland Academy 35-24 in September. However, the loss only inspired the Arrows as they destroyed MRA 35-0 in a rematch in the semifinals of the playoffs.
How dominant was the Sheffield Drive school this year? JA averaged 41.5 points per game for the season.
Jackson Academy garnered some criticism this year after the Raiders raided several blue chippers from the Clinton High School roster. The Mississippi Scoreboard Facebook page reported in July:
Jackson Academy hasn’t won a state football championship since a three-peat from 2009 to 2011.But the Raiders – led by four players, each with multiple SEC offers – are one of the favorites to bring home the gold this season.Offensive lineman Caden Moss (No. 1 rated player in Mississippi and No. 4 rated offensive lineman in the country in the Class of 2026 by 247 Sports), defensive lineman and Tennessee commitment Dereon Albert (No. 8 player in Mississippi and No. 28 defensive tackle in the Class of 2026), linebacker and Tennessee commitment TJ White (No. 3 player in Mississippi and No. 5 linebacker in the country in the Class of 2026), and wide receiver and North Carolina commitment O’Mari Johnson (rated No. 17 player in Mississippi and No. 35 athlete in the country) lead the charge for the Raiders.No school in Mississippi has three players in the Top 20 in the Class of 2026 like JA and only defending MHSAA Class 7A state champion Tupelo has three in the Top 24.JA picked up more firepower this summer with the addition of six transfers, five from MHSAA Class 7A Clinton High, including last year’s starting quarterback and leading tackler, and one from Madison-Ridgeland Academy, who are all expected to make contributions to the already talented roster.
While Jackson Academy savored victory, Clinton High School tasted mud as it slogged through a 4-6 season. Sports Illustrated ranked the JA Arrows eighth among Mississippi High school football teams prior to last weekend's games. The rankings are:
1. West Point
2. Tupelo
3. Columbia
4. Oxford
5. Gulport
6. Lousville
7. Kosciusko
8. Jackson Academy
9. Warren Centeral
10. Hattiesburg
11. Picayune
12. Germantown
13. Noxubee County
14. Oak Grove
15. Parklane Academy
16. McComb
17. Lake Cormorant
18. Heidelberg
19. Petal
20. Horhn Lake
26 comments:
Desperate for clicks are we, Kingfish?
"All schools recruit" argument against an obvious tongue-in-cheek joke coming in 3...2...1...
A little sensitive are we, 9:57?
How awesome - congrats to JA!!! After years of sweat, practice, and hard work, they have been rewarded with a well earned championship. JA should be proud of themselves!
Great job! Go Raiders!
They bought it BOZO.
JA beat Hartfield at their own game (Recruiting)
@9:57 not as badly as you need attention.
JA couldn't beat 1/4th of the teams below its own ranking in that statewide list.
Was there ever any doubt?
Congrats to JA!!!! These folks are really going to be suicidal and hurt once School Choice passes. Just get better, train harder, & adjust.
I just hope the standards of education and rigor at Prep, JA, & H-Field (joking because there’s no standard at HA) have not suffered or dropped. If not….PLAY BALL!
@10:32 don’t forget MRA too. They started the entire recruiting circus a decade ago.
Congrats on buying a good football team.
I didn’t mention MRA because we would never do this and are def the best private school in the state academically!!!!
When did JA change its name to “Arrows” and why?
JA is a well-financed private school in a football crazy state. What they, Hartfield and MRA have done has been going on to a greater extent throughout the rest of the country for years. They have the money and they are using it. They can pick great athletes and not lower any "standards'. It's no big deal and the criticism just shows how Mississippi is always late to the game.
Champeenship?
Prep does the same, just with mostly white kids so no one really cares.
3 teams in state playoffs this weekend are from Smith County. 3A, 2A & 1A, how about we give these little guys some coverage Kingfish.
You don't want the kind of coverage that KF provides.
Small minds everywhere..........
I only wish JA would bring in more good players and play some of the out of state big name schools. It would be good for the image of Mississippi. It sure can't hurt.
What has been lost in this hullabaloo is that the Clinton football team was terrible in 2024. Actually the team was much better in 2025 without these players.
Am I saying these players were troublemakers? No way. What I am saying is that JA brought in three very good football coaches who developed these players.
The MHSAA has long recruited players. What JA did is nothing new. The JA coaches got these players to a higher level.
I have no connection to JA. I went to Jackson Public School. But I have followed high school football my adult life. I know that good coaching takes very good players and makes them great players.
As an aside, I wonder how solid O’Mari Johnson’s commitment to Chapel Bill is. Best to avoid that shit show.
Every single one of those guys from Clinton are the most down to earth people you will meet. It’s just plain racism at this point.
Yes - no doubts that high school football can turn around the image of the dumbest, fattest, poorest state.
Post a Comment