NATCHEZ — The Natchez-Adams School District kicked-off a new year with much to celebrate after the Natchez Middle School football team won its third Southwestern Junior High Athletic Conference championship.

The Bulldogs received special recognition Tuesday during the regularly scheduled meeting of the Natchez-Adams School District’s Board of Trustees for not only shining in the field but also in the classroom, said NMS head coach Josh West.

“This team was a very special team,” West said. “Not only are they talented, but they are academically inclined as well. Our motto this year was that we would define discipline, both out on the field and in the classroom. No matter where we were, we gave it our very best.”

West said each of the 36 championship players had to sign an accountability contract at the beginning of the season, making each of them promise to give their all in the classroom or suffer the consequences at practice.

The results paid off, with fewer office referrals and a clean winning record this season, West said.

Not only were the Bulldogs undefeated last season, but also they nearly won every game with a complete shutout, West said. Amite County scored only once against the Bulldogs earlier last season, and the team took the championship title against Port Gibson with a score of 28-0, West said.

Last season was West’s fourth season as the NMS head coach, he said, and after losing the championship his first season in 2015 with three losses, he bounced back with a vengeance.

In 2016, West said his team lost two games and still managed to take home the championship title. During the 2017 and 2018 seasons, NMS went undefeated, he said.

“Every year, we’ve managed to improve,” he said. “This is the best team that I’ve had, and we had more plays that we could run.”

West said he has a strong staff, strong players and a supportive community to thank for a successful season, including coaches Rick Bellar, Jamal McCullen, Jerald Johnson, Jacory Carter and Willie Newman.

“They were instrumental in our success,” West said. “I had the best middle school staff that a young coach can ask for. … I also want to encourage our community to get behind their kids and show more support for them. If these kids see more people behind them, showing them support for what they do, they’ll continue to succeed.”

In other matters during Tuesday’s meeting of the Natchez-Adams School District’s Board of Trustees, the board:

4Unanimously approved travel requests, policy readings and field trips for the upcoming school year.

4Unanimously approved a job description for bus drivers to operate four new district-owned school buses that should be delivered later this month. The board approved purchase of the buses last August from Waters Truck and Tractor Company Inc. for $76,600 each and a total of $306,400.

4Unanimously approved creation of three committees to oversee district personnel, finance and policy discussions. Members had not yet been appointed to any of the committees as of Tuesday.