There are over 300 high school football programs in the state of Mississippi. Sixteen weeks into the 2017 season, only 12 remain standing in the playoffs. One of them is Hattiesburg, who will play for their first state title since 1998 on Saturday night against West Point.
It’s the final week of what has been an incredible, storybook season for Tony Vance’s Hattiesburg Tigers.
“It’s like I told my coaches yesterday. We’ve met as many Sundays as we’re allowed to meet,” Vance said. “And we’ve practiced as many days as we can possibly practice. There’s no next week. This is it.”
All season long, the mantra for the 2017 Tigers has been to go 1-0 this week. It’s worked this far in, so why change up now, right?
“It’s the next game on the schedule, and we’re glad it’s on the schedule,” Vance added. “We’ve got one game left to play. No sense in holding anything back now.”
The Tigers punched their ticket to the championship round with a 33-22 win over Laurel last Friday night. Nearly 10,000 fans were on hand at D.I. Patrick Stadium to watch Hattiesburg knock off their rival and win the Class 5A South State Championship.
For Tiger fans, the celebration likely went deep into the night and still rages on today. For Vance, his coaches and players, though, it was short-lived.
“As a coaching staff, we celebrated it on the field and a little bit in the locker room,” Vance said. “After that, we got to work probably at about 11:30 or 12 on West Point.”
For good reason. Like Hattiesburg, West Point is undefeated at 14-0 this season. Going all the way back to early last season, the Green Wave have won 27 games in a row.
“They’ve got a tremendous football team with great players on both sides of the football,” Vance said. “Without a doubt they’ll be the best team we’ve played all year.”
Offensively, West Point is led by quarterback Marcus Murphy, a Mississippi State commit. Murphy and senior tailback Chris Calvert have both eclipsed the 1000-yard rushing mark. Not to be completely outdone, senior wide receiver Jason Brownlee has caught 39 passes for 928 yards and 11 touchdowns. And it doesn’t stop there, says Vance.
“They’ve got a couple of other guys on the team whose names are not well-known on offense but are really good. Defensively, they’ve got some big-time players, also. They’ve got a complete football team.”
But so does Hattiesburg. The Tigers are averaging 48 points per game and have passed every test to this point with flying colors. It didn’t happen by accident.
“We didn’t get this far to change what we’re doing, because on the other side of the coin, they’ve got to defend us, too,” Vance said. “They’ve got to try to score points on us, too. We’re not in this game by accident. We’re deserving to be in there, and we’ll prove that Saturday night.”
It’s a new experience for Hattiesburg’s players and most of their coaches. Not so much for Vance. Prior to taking the job at Hattiesburg in 2013, Vance led the Charleston Tigers to back-to-back Class 3A championship appearances in 2011 and 2012. Those experiences have allowed him to educate his players on the moment and the now.
“Enjoy it. Don’t forget to enjoy it,” Vance said with a smile. “That’s the biggest thing I’ve told our coaches and players. We’ve gotta enjoy this moment, because there’s no guarantee you’ll be here again.”
Much like he did in 2011, Vance is hoping to lead his Tigers to a state title win. Either way, what a year for Hattiesburg.
“One day we’ll look back and say, ‘Gah-lee, man. Wasn’t that a special moment’, whether we finish this season 15-0 or 14-1,” Vance said. “Obviously 15-0 with the first state championship in school history would be remarkable, and that’s what we’re striving for.”
Kickoff of Hattiesburg-West Point is scheduled for 7 pm Saturday night at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, MS.
