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August 28, 2026

FRIDAY’S GAMES

MHSAA

Aberdeen 50
Okolona 32

Amite County 44
McAdams 0

Biggersville 33
West Lowndes 8

Biloxi 35
Holmes County 19

Booneville
North Pontotoc

Brookhaven 35
Lawrence County 8

Calhoun City 28
Myrtle 18

Canton 56
Velma Jackson 20

Center Hill
Horn Lake

Charleston 42
Amanda Elzy 0

Choctaw Central 48
Newton 8

Choctaw County
East Webster

Clarkdale 56
Resurrection 15

Cleveland Central
Clarksdale

Coffeeville 14
West Bolivar 8

Corinth 28
New Hope 21

DeSoto Central
South Panola

D’Iberville 21
Raleigh 6

Enterprise-Clarke 40
Stringer 24

Enterprise-Lincoln 14
North Forrest 13

Ethel
J.Z. George

Eupora
Hamilton

Faith Academy (Ala.) 35
Bay High 7

Falkner 40
Middleton (Tenn.) 0

Forest 37
Lake 18

Forrest Co. AHS 27
St. Stanislaus 14

Gautier 63
George County 35

Gentry
Greenville

Germantown
Northwest Rankin

Greene County 21
East Central 13

Gulfport 35
Picayune 0

Hatley 24
Nettleton 18

Hazlehurst 76
Helix Academy (La.) 0

Hernando 26
Memphis Overton 9

Holly Springs
Mantachie

Houston 46
Columbus 12

Humphreys County
Yazoo City

Itawamba AHS 42
Caledonia 10

Jefferson County
Northside

Jim Hill 34
Crystal Springs 2

Kosciusko 56
Neshoba Central 35

Lafayette 58
Memphis Wooddale 0

Lake Cormorant 27
Pure Academy (Tenn.) 8

Lanier 24
Harrison Central 20

Laurel 56
West Jones 42

Leflore County 30
Shaw 0

Lewisburg
Memphis Mitchell

Louisville 21
West Point 6

M.S. Palmer
West Tallahatchie

Magee
Mount Olive

McComb 41
Tylertown 0

McNairy Central (Tenn.) 21
Belmont 16

Mendenhall 46
Ridgeland 27

Mize 56
Taylorsville 6

Morton 42
Newton County 13

Nanih Waiya
Vardaman

North Pike 17
Franklin County 12

Noxubee County 21
Heidelberg 20

O’Bannon
Leland

Oxford
Collierville (Tenn.)

Pascagoula 44
Moss Point 0

Pass Christian 48
Long Beach 3

Pearl River Central 28
Wayne County 27

Pelahatchie 27
Pisgah 19

Perry Central 24
Loyd Star 16

Petal 35
Hattiesburg 34

Pontotoc 48
Amory 14

Poplarville 40
West Harrison 7

Port Gibson 34
Raymond 14

Potts Camp
Strayhorn

Presbyterian Christian 31
Mobile Christian 13

Provine (South Jackson Field)
Leake

Puckett
Sebastopol

Purvis 27
Lumberton 14

Richland
Florence

Richton 25
West Lincoln 0

Ripley
Mooreville

Rosa Fort 36
North Panola 0

Ruleville
Greenwood

Salem
McLaurin

Saltillo
New Albany

Scott Central
NE Lauderdale

SE Lauderdale 7
Noxapater 0

Seminary 37
West Lauderdale 6

Senatobia
Memphis Business Academy

Shannon 31
Olive Branch 13

Simmons 44
Coahoma County 12

South Pike
Bay Springs

South Pontotoc
Bruce

St. Martin 56
Vancleave 14

Starkville 17
Oak Grove 15

Stone 50
Hancock 44

Terry 55
Murrah (Hughes Field) 6

Tupelo 38
Brandon 14

Tupelo Christian 42
East Union 0

Union 27
Philadelphia 26

Vicksburg
Natchez

Walnut
Faith Assembly Christian (Tenn.)

Warren Central 35
Clinton 24

Water Valley
Independence

Wesson 41
Bogue Chitto 0

Wilkinson County
South Delta

Winona 21
Southaven 7

Yazoo County 61
Riverside 0

MSAIS

Adams Christian
Greenville Christian

Amite School
Oak Forest Academy (La.)

Ben’s Ford Christian (La.)
Sylva-Bay Academy

Benton Academy 46
Columbus Christian 14

Briarfield Academy (La.)
Humphreys Academy

Brookhaven Academy 24
Silliman Institute (La.) 14

C.H.E.F (La.)
Central Hinds

Calhoun Academy 42
Marvell Academy (Ark.) 12

Canton Academy 20
East Rankin 14

Carroll Academy
Indianola Academy

Christ Covenant 37
Central Holmes 6

Columbia Academy 21
Simpson Academy 12

Copiah Academy
Heritage Academy

Delta Academy 42
Desoto School (Ark.) 14

Delta Streets Academy
Lee Academy (Ark.)

Fayette (Tenn.) 42
Rossville Christian (Tenn.) 7

Greenville St. Joseph 52
Madison St. Joseph 21

Heritage Christian
Discovery Christian

Hermitage (Ark.)
Claiborne Academy (La.)

Jackson Academy 16
McGill-Toolen (Ala.) 0

Jackson Prep
Parklane Academy

Leake Academy 40
Riverfield Academy (La.) 24

Lee Academy
Magnolia Heights

Newton Co. Academy
Russell Christian

North Delta 36
West Memphis Christian (Ark.) 14

Pillow Academy
Bayou Academy

Porter’s Chapel
Kemper Academy

Prentiss Christian
Wilkinson Christian

Tallulah Academy (La.) 64
Prairie View Academy (La.) 40

Tunica Academy 47
Deer Creek 6

Washington School
Kirk Academy

Wayne Academy 38
Bowling Green School (La.) 0

Winona Christian 16
Marshall Academy 14

MSAIS-MHSAA

Cathedral
St. Andrew’s

Hartfield Academy 42
Columbia 28

MRA 30
Jefferson Davis County 27

Oak Hill Academy 42
French Camp 0

Sacred Heart 24
Centreville Academy 0

St. Patrick
Christian Collegiate CNCD

As the annual Bernard Blackwell North/South All-Star Game is getting ready to go in Gulfport, may we ask: who is Bernard Blackwell?

Bernard Brown Blackwell is one of Mississippi’s finest athletes ever to play football. He played at a nondescript position, one away from the spotlight at left guard. Yet his impact to Mississippi football is felt to this day, both on, and most importantly, off the field.

Bernard Blackwell was born on August 20, 1920 in Philadelphia, the heart of Neshoba County. A graduate of Perkinston High School, he went on to play at Ole Miss, his first brush with his future. From 1944 to 1947, he anchored the offensive line for John Vaught’s very first team and started every game for four years, the first player in Rebel history to accomplish this. In his senior year he was an instrumental part of the first Ole Miss team to win the SEC title, going 9-2 and playing with such legends as Charlie Conerly, Dixie Howell and Barney Poole. This Ole Miss team capped the season with a 13-9 win over TCU in the 1948 Delta Bowl in Memphis. He was more than a football player however. He was a multisport player, a member of the Ole Miss baseball, basketball and track teams.

Blackwell was named on the All-American squad of 1947 and signed a contract with the New York Giants. However, the professional game was not in his future, to the detriment of professional football and the good of Mississippi. At 21, Bernard Blackwell became coach of Northwest Junior College in Senatobia, the youngest head coach in Mississippi junior college history. After two years he went on to coach at West Tallahatchie High School from 1950 to 1956, winning both football and track district championships. 1954 was a bellwether year; he was named Coach of the Year by the Delta Valley Conference and in perhaps his most lasting contribution to Mississippi football, formed the Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC).

Leaving West Tallahatchie in 1956, Coach Blackwell went to Greenville High and help establish one of the premier programs in Mississippi. Greenville won the 1957 and 1958 Big Eight football titles. His baseball teams won two district, two North Mississippi and two American Legion District crowns. Coach Blackwell departed the Delta after the 1958 season as he was hired as head football coach on the Coast at Pascagoula High, where they went from 0-8 in 1958 to 7-2 in 1959.

In 1959 Bernard Blackwell departed for Clinton and Mississippi College, where he would remain for the rest of his career. Bernard Blackwell devoted his life to Mississippi College and the MAC, was a member of the Board of Directors until 1963, then was named Executive Director, a post he served until 1993. Under his membership the MAC grew from 300 to over 2,000. He solicited and received corporate sponsorships for the MAC and broadened its financial standing. He expanded the MAC to include programs not available in any other coaching associations across the country.

The MAC adopted and funded a Memorial Athletic Benefit and Permanent Disability Plan which has paid off temporary and permanent disability, and death claims. The Mississippi Association of Coaches established the first athletic training workshop for high school and college students in the United States. The association also supported the adoption of a program to determine state championships in high school football still used to this day and established a permanent job and coaching career file for coaches. Coach Blackwell and the MAC established a Coaches Hall of Fame, which held its first class induction in 1973, and is an annual MAC event. He served as Chairman of the MAC Hall of Fame Selection Committee. In addition to the Hall of Fame, an entire award program was created for high school and junior college coaches for all sports.

Included is the MAC’s expansion to baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, track, tennis, and cross-country clinics. They sponsored training in nutrition, drug abuse, sports medicine, and established a college credit for working in clinics. In a tough decision, Coach Blackwell supported efforts to adopt the “no pass – no play” rule for athletic eligibility. He negotiated the Mississippi/Alabama All-Star football and basketball games.

It is impossible to see the modern form of Mississippi High School athletics and not see Bernard Blackwell’s hand. He made major changes in athletic administrations, helped to form strong bonds between the coaches, fans and players in all athletic sports.

All of Coach Blackwell’s contributions helped make high school sports in Mississippi better, more enjoyable, and safer for the student-athletes who play the game. His passion and love for the MAC, Mississippi College, and Mississippi in general helped build a place where Mississippi ranks in the top five of states with players that graduate to college ranks, based on per capita. He singlehandedly brought Mississippi from the conference system where regional teams played each other regardless to size to regions where teams of equal size were matched to improve competition.

Coach Blackwell passed away in 1993 at the age of 73, but lived long enough to see Mississippi lead the way in modernizing high school and athletic administrations and watch his beloved Mississippi College defeat Jacksonville State in 1989 for the Division II National Championship. His Hall of Fame inductions include the Mississippi Association of Coaches in 1980, the Mississippi College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991, and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

As we prepare for the Bernard Blackwell North/South All-Star game, let us pause for a second to consider the contributions of this one man who made a difference in all the lives of those who played for him and those he helped through his contribution to both sports and society. Mississippi was partly shaped by the efforts of Bernard Brown Blackwell, and we are forever in his debt.

— G. David Shows, a.k.a., “Dr. Dave”, is the webmaster of fnutl.com.  Born in Gulfport, raised in Long Beach, a former resident of Columbia, and a former right tackle for the Gulfport St. John Eagles, he is a professor of Marketing at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC

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