Top Mississippi High School Football Players 06/18/00

03/30/02
PICAYUNE HS - [This was emailed to me from a Picayune contact of mine.-Gene] Picayune baseball has come of age. They are very talented this year. The players that lead this team pitching is Justin Pigott a Junior and Chris Bucano a senior that are both left handers. Both are really outstanding pitchers with excellent control that changes speeds very well. A freshman to watch is right-hander Heath Stevens. Heath is 3-0 with a 2.19 ERA in his first varsity season.

The hitting leader of this team is senior Ryan Hughes, a PRCC signee. Ryan is hitting .563 with 8 doubles, 5 HR's and 30 RBI's through the first 16 games. A couple of weeks ago he hit .778 with 9 RBI's and a HR. Ryan is about 6'2 and throws and hits from the left side. He plays first base and has a beautiful swing. Ryan is a great kid with even better parents. Senior CF Matt Riser, who is hitting just over .400 with a couple of home runs, is another leader on the team. Matt, who hits from the left side and throws right-handed, is a tough out and gives you a 100% all of the time. Matt also has a little brother coming up that will be a outstanding player. Another leader on this team is junior SS/P Richard Imhoff. Richard, who bats and throws from the right side, has unlimited potential. He hits to all fields and has power. Richard, who has as much ability as anyone that has come through Picayune in a long time, should be heavily recruited.

The coach of Picayune is Kent Kirkland who has a 221-81 record (.732 winning percentage) in 11 years at Picayune. Kent has coached several all-star teams in Mississippi and has brought Picayune a contender in baseball every year. His assistant coaches are John Dobson and Cayne Stockstill, both outstanding teachers of the game. They love the game and put in the time and work to be successful. They are a great complement for Coach Kirkland. Another coach who has generated the energy in our youth leagues is Bob Ford. Bob knows our kids and is a great motivator for them. He is great with the kids and makes them successful at whatever they do. Bob has a league in our youth association named after him. That is how much we think of him in this community.

03/27/02 - Gene's Page talks with Long Beach (MS) HS football coach Sean Harden

This is the second in a series of interviews that Gene's Page has conducted with high school coaches in Mississippi. Today's interview is with Long Beach High School head football coach Sean Harden.

Coach Harden, talk a little about players you have that you feel can be division-one prospects by the time they are seniors.
"The first player I want to tell you about is an upcoming senior. His name is Jay Hawthorne. Jay is a 6-1, 170 pound wide receiver/defensive back. Jay finished this season with 30 receptions for 450 yds. and 6 TD. On defense, he had 45 stops and 3 interceptions. Jay has been a starter since his freshman year. This past year was the first year we really featured him on the offensive side of the ball. Jay runs a legitimate sub 4.5 forty. Jay was also named to the first team all district 8 5A team.

"I have several sophomores that all also have a chance to be prospects. The first one is defensive lineman Xavier Mitchell. He is 6-4, 230 pounds, runs a 4.7 forty, bench presses 285, and squats 470. He started every game of his freshman and sophomore seasons. He has played DL, DE, LB, FB, and TE for us. This year, he primarily played defensive line and finished the year with 10 sacks, 5 fumble recoveries, 1 int. and 70 tackles. For his career, Xavier already has 18 sacks. He is a very impressive player and one whom we are very excited about. He is also a very good student. Xavier was second team all district 8 5A.

"The second sophomore is Tim Lewis. Tim has started every game of his high school career as well, beginning with his freshman season in 2000. Tim is 6, 185, and plays Inside linebacker for us. He bench presses 250 lb. and squats 430. He runs a 4.7 forty. Tim finished this season with 104 tackles and 5 fumble recoveries. He had 15 tackle performances against Gulfport and Moss Point. Tim is a great student.

"Both Xavier and Tim attended one of the 2 day MSU camps this past summer.

"We also have a left-handed sophomore quarterback who has a chance to be a good one. His name is Pat Farrell. He is about 6-4 to 6-5, 215 pounds and has a great arm. He has about a 4.9 forty. He has more quickness than straight-ahead speed. He is not going to beat many in a foot-race. He is a great leader who is like having another coach on the field. He is also a great student in the classroom.

"Pat is also a great baseball player. He was a relief pitcher for the high school baseball team as a freshman. His velocity is in the mid-80's. After seeing him throw the football, I feel he has increased that some.

"When he got hurt this past season, I had a lot of folks tell him that he needed to give up football and concentrate on baseball. He told me that he wanted to continue playing football.

"This sophomore bunch that I have is a special group."

Are there any others that you can think of off the top of your head?
"I do have one freshman who played for me as an 8th grader. Jarvis Shelby (5-8, 170, 4.5) is a two-year letterman for me. He has become a hard worker for us. Before we left for Christmas, we maxed out in the weight room and he benched 250 and squatted 440. And that is full parallel squat. He backed up Brandon Jacobs who signed with Ole Miss. He also played fullback when we went to a two-back set. This past season, he was our starting tailback and finished with over 1,000 all-purpose yards (614 rushing which was 24th best in the state in 5A classification)."

03/26/02 - Earlier this year I interviewed Coach Morgan, the head football coach at Warren Central High School in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Coach Morgan, a 34-year veteran of the coaching ranks, talked about several of his players that have a chance to be division-one players.

Talk about some of your players that you feel have a chance to be division-one players on the college level.
"I have a linebacker who will be a senior next year that is good. We keep up with our tackles by watching film. He had 160 tackles. His name is Tyler DeRossette. Tyler is close to 6 feet tall and weighs 225 pounds. He runs well and is a good fullback, too. He is a wonderful kid. Tyler runs in the 4.6 range. He has started for me since his sophomore year. He is also the catcher on the baseball team. They won the state championship."

Has he started receiving letters from colleges?
"Oh yeah, he has received a lot of letters."

Did he receive any honors this season?
"He made all-region, all-division and all-county."

Who are some other players on your team that you feel have a chance, based on their play so far, to play on the D-I level?
"Andrew Patton (a senior-to-be) is another linebacker on my team. He is about the same size and has about the same speed as Tyler. Like Tyler, he has been starting since his sophomore year.

"Another linebacker I have that is a player is Henry Williams (a senior-to-be). Henry is 6-2, 225. He runs a 4.7 to 4.8. He is a really good player. Henry is also a good fullback and a long snapper.

"Jesse Peddyfoot is a 6-3, 200-pound freshman. He also plays linebacker. He has it all. I moved him up to the varsity team, although he didn't get to play much behind the other linebackers. He will play somewhere for us this coming season."

You are a veteran coach and have seen a lot of great players, how does Peddyfoot compare to some of the great players that you have seen during your career?
"At this stage in his career, you can tell that he is going to be a good one."

What makes him so good?
"He is a hitter, has the size and can run."

Thanks for your time Coach Morgan.
"Thanks."

03/25/02
BROOKHAVEN HS - Emanuel Perkins, a junior DB from Brookhaven, is getting letters from about 20 schools, including Notre Dame, Stanford, and many SEC schools. He visited LSU for Junior Day and will visit Southern Miss for their Junior Day. He has interest in Mississippi State as well.