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Football season is never truly over. We have a long lasting “bye-week” where we think ahead to the coming year of new heroes, crazy finishes and bizarre plays. It is also a time to reflect on the past season of successes. 

One of the remarkable successes happened just a 30 minute drive up U.S. 61 in Fayette. Jefferson County came into the 2022 season following a 3-7 season in 2021 and Tylertown was the favorite to win the 3A region. 

The Tigers went 8-3 and finished with a 4-0 record in region play to capture the division title and made the playoffs. Jefferson County nearly beat Natchez, losing only by six points. They also lost on the road in the playoffs at Magee by 10 points, nearly reaching the semi-finals. 

The eight-win season is a school record for the Tigers and their district title was only their second in school history. Head Coach Roderick Holmes is The Natchez Democrat’s All-Metro Coach of the Year for the success he has brought to Jefferson County in such a short turnaround. He has coached for 16 years and I’m sure his success will continue. 

Another major turnaround came at Vidalia High School. The Vikings went 6-5 in 2022 winning four more games than they did in 2021. Vidalia got off to its best start in a decade winning their first four games. The Vikings also reached the playoffs. 

Senior Sema’J Hayes was arguably the biggest catalyst behind the successful season. Vidalia completed summer workouts with a levee run in August. Hayes was right there to support, encourage and push his teammates up the hills. He would complete the hill and run down to cheer on his teammate while running up with him. 

He threw for 1,641 yards, scoring 18 touchdowns while also rushing for 421 yards and 12 touchdowns as a quarterback. On the defensive side of the ball, he made 35 tackles with 20 solo tackles and 15 assisted stops. Hayes made two interceptions and recovered a fumble for the Vikings in the turnover department. The senior made an impact and led the team on and off the field. He is The Natchez Democrat All-Metro Player of the Year because of what he means to the Vidalia program. Hayes will be hard to replace. 

Other players honored include:

 

Offensive team

Adams County Christian School

Coleman Carter — A sophomore quarterback, he threw for 2,194 yards and 28 touchdowns this season. He also rushed for 588 yards and nine touchdowns. 

Jordan Berry — A junior wide receiver, caught 27 passes for 494 yards and five touchdowns. He additionally had 361 yards on kickoff, punt and interception returns and was a key player on special teams. 

Edarrius Green — A senior offensive lineman, he was a veteran anchor for the offensive line and helped the Rebels make it to the semi-final round. 

Cathedral

Noah Russ — A senior quarterback, he led the offense with 1,836 passing yards and 22 touchdowns. He completed 55 percent of his passes and had a quarterback rating of 103.7 He also had 163 rushing yards. 

Jake Harriston — A senior running back, he led the team in rushing yards with 436. He had 115 carries for the Green Wave and two touchdowns. 

Kaden Batieste — A senior wide receiver, he carried the ball 26 times for 168 yards and one touchdown.  He also had 1,079 yard receiving on 61 catches and 11 touchdowns. 

Delta Charter

Juvari Singleton — A junior quarterback, he completed 41 passes on 55 attempts for 575 yards. He scored nine touchdowns through the air and rushed for 507 yards on 52 carries and 11 touchdowns. 

Tyrin Singleton — A sophomore wide receiver, he made 29 receptions for 309 yards. He scored six touchdowns for the Storm. 

Aidan Ferguson — A senior offensive lineman, he had one rushing touchdown for the Storm and was named to the LHSAA 2A-2 region all-district team. 

Ferriday

Shacoby Boxley — A senior quarterback, he completed 50 of 104 passing attempts for 751 yards and eight touchdowns. He also scored on a rushing touchdown this past season.

Chavo Thomas Jr. — A senior running back, he hauled in 22 passes for 306 yards and three touchdowns. He ran the ball 49 times for 516 yards and three touchdowns and threw the ball for 189 yards and two touchdowns. 

Desmen Jefferson — A freshman wide receiver, he scored four touchdowns, had 22 catches and gained 595 yards on receptions. His longest catch went for 75 yards. 

Jefferson County 

Jabari Watson — A junior quarterback, he completed 126 passes for 2,025 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also rushed the ball 46 times for 477 yards and a touchdown. 

JJ Claiborne — A senior running back, he ran the ball for 989 yards on 143 carries to average 6.9 yards per carry. He had four 100 yard games and scored eight touchdowns. 

Royale Shelvy — A sophomore wide receiver, he had 797 receiving yards and averaged 16.3 yards per catch. Of his 49 receptions, he scored on five of them with his longest catch going 60 yards. 

Natchez 

Kaden Walton — A sophomore quarterback, he completed 117 of 190 passes for 1,753 yards and threw 18 touchdown passes. He had a quarterback rating of 112. 

Traylon Minor — A senior running back, he ran the ball 132 times for 887 yards and finished with four 100-yard games and 10 touchdowns. He also caught nine passes for 140 yards and a touchdown. 

Mike Williams — A senior wide receiver, he had 31 catches for 490 yards and six touchdowns. He averaged 15.8 yards per catch and his longest reception went for 58 yards. 

Vidalia 

Sema’J Hayes — A senior quarterback, he completed 116 of 212 passes for 1,641 yards and 18 touchdowns. He ran the ball 99 times for 421 yards and 12 touchdowns. 

Jalin Moody — A senior running back, he ran the ball 636 yards on 100 carries averaging 6.4 yards per carry. He scored five touchdowns and had four games over 100 yards rushing. He also had 126 receiving yards and a touchdown. 

Chris Brooks — A senior wide receiver, he had 32 receptions for 498 rushing yards and scored six touchdowns. His longest reception was 63 yards and he averaged 15.6 yards per catch. 

 

Defensive team

Adams County Christian School

Takey Stampley — A senior linebacker, he made 89 solo tackles out of 125 total tackles with an average of 11.4 tackles per game. He also had two interceptions and a fumble recovery. 

Jessie Grayson — A senior defensive back, he made 67 solo tackles out of 89 total tackles, led the team with 8 tackles for loss and made five interceptions with 122 interception return yards. 

Conor Aplin — A senior linebacker, he made 54 solo tackles out of 70 total tackles. He also had two sacks. 

Cathedral

Jack Whittington — A junior linebacker, he made 78 total tackles with 19 solo tackles and 50 assisted tackles. Whittington also had 7.5 tackles for loss, one interception and one forced fumble. 

Tanner Wimberly — A senior defensive end, he made 55 tackles with 22 solo tackles and 33 assisted tackles. He had 3.5 tackles for loss, one interception and one forced fumble. 

Jake Maples — A senior linebacker, made 40 total tackles with 19 solo and 21 assisted. He also made 8 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. 

Delta Charter

Clay Roberson — A senior lineman, he tied for runner-up scholar athlete with the Miss-Lou Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. 

Davis Cooper — A junior linebacker, he made 20 tackles with 15 solo tackles and five assists. He averaged 6.7 tackles per game and was named to the LHSAA 2A-2 All District Team.

Jalen Ivy — A junior defensive tackle, he made 57 total tackles. 

Ferriday 

Chris Reed — A sophomore linebacker, he made 65 tackles with 25 solo and 42 assisted averaging 7.4 tackles per game. He had 10 sacks and 34 hurries for the Trojans and forced and recovered a fumble. 

Kevon Thompson — A junior defensive back, he made 32 total tackles with 15 solos and 17 assisted. He also made four interceptions for 40 yards of return. 

Aiden Turner — A junior linebacker, he made 63 total tackles with 30 solo stops and 33 assisted tackles. He had a sack and four hurries, an interception, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble and blocked a punt. 

Jefferson County 

Tylan Collins — A senior linebacker, he made 121 tackles with 112 solo tackles and nine assisted stops. He had two tackles for a loss, a sack, an interception, two fumble recoveries and two caused fumbles. 

Jermall Williams — A sophomore linebacker, he made 105 tackles with 93 solo stops and 12 assisted tackles. He had five tackles for a loss, two sacks, five hurries, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. 

JaMarcus Jackson — A senior safety, he made 100 tackles with 90 solo stops and 10 assisted tackles. He had two sacks, a forced fumble and a blocked punt. 

Natchez 

Jalen Irving — A sophomore linebacker, he made 75 tackles with 58 solo stops and 17 assisted. He had five sacks and recovered two fumbles and returned them for 120 yards. 

Kameron Carter — A senior safety, he made three interceptions and returned them for 110 yards with two of them being pick sixes. He deflected 11 passes, forced a fumble and recovered two fumbles. He also had 22 tackles. 

Koren Harris — A senior defensive back, he made 61 tackles with 47 solo stops and 14 assisted stops. Harris broke up eight passes and blocked a punt for the Bulldogs. 

Vidalia

Kabari Davis — A junior linebacker, he led the team with 120 tackles, 76 of those solo and 44 assisted stops. He had two sacks, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and an interception. 

Devin Jackson  — A senior linebacker, he had 102 tackles with 60 solo tackles and 42 assisted stops. He averaged 10.2 tackles per game and had 4 tackles for a loss. He also had a sack and a caused fumble. 

James Brixey — A senior defensive lineman, he made 70 tackles with 27 solo stops and 43 assisted. He also led the team with three sacks, had four tackles for a loss and caused a fumble. 

 

Special Teams 

Adams County Christian School 

Samuel Merriett — A senior kicker, he made six PATs out of six attempts, averaged 43.6 yards per kickoff with a long of 60. He tied as the runner-up for the scholar athlete award presented by the Miss-Lou Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall-of-Fame. 

Cathedral

Jack Lewis — A senior, he punted 19 times for a total of 611 yards. He had five punts downed inside the opponents 20 and averaged 32.2 yards per punt and was selected as a scholar athlete by the Miss-Lou Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame this year. 

Delta Charter

Gunner Smith — A sophomore, he averaged 28.7 yards per kickoff for the Storm this season. 

Ferriday

Paityn Collins — A freshman, he averaged 21 yards per punt for the Trojans with his longest being a booming 48 yard punt. He punted six times over the season. 

Jefferson County

Jalen Johnson — A freshman, he averaged 44.4 yards per punt for the Tigers with his longest being 49 yards. One of his kicks was downed inside the opponents 20 this season.

Natchez 

DeMarcco Blanton — A senior wide receiver, he returned one punt for a touchdown, averaged 32.7 yards per kickoff return on three returns and averaged 23.3 yards per punt return on three returns. His longest return of the season was 60 yards. 

Vidalia 

Zion Buck — A senior wide receiver, he had 12 kickoff returns for 283 yards, his longest being an 86 yard return. He also returned three punts for a total of 110 yards. Buck scored a touchdown on a punt return and on a kickoff return.