The second season begins Friday for Mississippi High School Activities Association high school football teams as region play begins.
The Grenada Chargers open Class 6A, Region 1 play tonight against the Lake Cormorant Gators. After winning four of six games to open the 2023 season, first-year head coach Michael Fair’s group begins its quest tonight for an opportunity to play for a region championship.
“For the first time all season, the outcome of the game has consequences that travel with it,” Fair said. “You are playing for a postseason berth and seeding in the playoffs – there’s extra intensity that goes into a region game. As a staff and team, you pay more attention to detail, which we talked about to our guys this week. The first season was to prepare us for the second season. We need to make the most of it.”
The region opener won’t be an easy one as the Chargers face the tough task against the unbeaten Gators from Lake Cormorant, which is located just south of Horn Lake. Nick Nester, the only coach the program has ever had, currently has his team at 5-0 on the season.
“They have outstanding players,” Coach Fair said. “I have competed against these guys for several years in a row now and seen his players grow up. They have a team full of phenomenal athletes and it starts with their five-star senior defensive end Kamarion Franklin (6-foot-6, 270).”
According to Nester, Franklin has more than 50 college scholarship offers. It’s not a surprise to his coach.
“Kamarion is an outstanding young man that knows the game of football,” Nester said. “He is the leader on the field and off. I have been blessed to watch him grow as a football player and a person.”
The Gators also have a highly recruited player in junior Jarcoby Hopson (6-foot-2, 194), who will play strong safety, quarterback, running back and linebacker.
Fair agreed with Nester.
“He is a legit 6-foot-6, 270 that can run,” he said. “There are not a lot of them floating around. His size will stand out when you see him on the field – he has a skill set and plays hard. There’s no secret why every college in the country is after him. Our offensive linemen look at it as a challenge.”
Grenada will have to account for him on every play, according to Fair.
“We are going to do a number of things against him,” the GHS coach said. “They have him on one side and Hopson on the other. If you run away from one great player, you run toward another great player. We have to be as balanced as you can and keep them off guard.”
Friday’s contest is also a battle among friends. Nester and Grenada High School offensive line coach Scott Martin fish together in the offseason, while Nester, Martin and Fair can always be seen together at coaches conventions.
“Both those guys are outstanding coaches and good friends of mine,” Nester said. “We enjoy spending time together in the offseason talking football. When we get on the field, we all three are fierce competitors. I’m looking forward to going against them. I have always said that Grenada was one of the best jobs around because they have outstanding athletes.”
The Chargers are coming off a 14-13 win at DeSoto-Central last weekend in Southaven. It was the second victory of the season over a Class 7A opponent, both coming on their Homecoming games, and the other being Oxford. Junior running back Macaleb Taylor is coming off a 208-yard, two touchdown performance in the win.
Lake Cormorant had an open date last Friday.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
