Brandon v Madison Central for State - this time it's for more than bragging rights
Jake Wimberly
Thirty seven miles separate Brandon high school and Madison Central, but the two communities might as well be miles apart.
This Friday, the two metro rivals will travel several miles to Hattiesburg and on the campus of Southern Miss - the two teams will play at the Rock at 7 pm in their 20th meeting- all time and this time it’s for more than bragging rights.
Two first year head coaches; Toby Collums at Madison Central and Sam Williams at Brandon, have their programs rolling and will collide in the 6A Title game Friday night and add another layer onto the history of this rivalry.
Madison Central leads the series 10 games to 9 and for the most part, these matchups have been close. The average score in the 19 meetings is 19-16 in favor of the Jags of Madison Central. The longest winning streak in the series is only 3 games - again in favor of the Dogs of Brandon from 2000-2002.
Madison Central won an earlier matchup this year in week two 42-19 over off the Parkway in Madison.
Madison Central won 42-19 in week two - photo cred. Capital Sports
But for Madison Central and Brandon it’s always been more than a game. This is about two thriving schools in two thriving counties that couldn’t be more different.
It’s Rankin County versus Madison county for goodness sakes!
You take the exit in Madison and the first thing you see is brick - lot’s of brick and a beautiful city and a double decade vision from Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler. Madison sets the pace in the state on business, commerce and there are ever expanding roof top communities in Madison and up the road in Gluckstadt.
Madison Central opened their doors in 1991 and quickly became a football power under Mike Justice. The Jags lone state title came in 1999 and that team is arguably one of the greatest Mississippi high school teams ever assembled.
As the Mississippi Sports Hall of fame put it “That 1999 team, coached by the inimitable Mike Justice, has to rank as one of the greatest high school teams in Mississippi history. They were a remarkable group that featured two future NFL offensive linemen, Chris Spencer and Doug Buckles, an NFL linebacker Parys Harrelson, an NFL wide receiver Mike Espy and one of the greatest placekickers in pro football history, Stephen Gostkowski.”
The Jags lived in the north half semifinals and finals for the next decade and a half, but always ran into buzz saw South Panola.
Last year when Anthony Hart stepped aside, the Jags, went across town and hired Toby Collums who rebuilt Northwest Rankin and finally, the Jags found paydirt this year going 12-1 and winning North State, beating teams by an average of 36-13.
Meanwhile - over in Brandon, a town full of its own growing rooftops, and a historic downtown that is ever expanding. Brandon - like Madison, has a populous that is proud of their school, kids and teams.
Brandon is a true Mississippi football town, dating back to legendary coach Wally Bumpas and watching stars named Norwood, Davis, Minshew, Rogers, Mingo and more come through the program.
Brandon has always prided itself on hard work, a village raises a child mentality and a “get it” attitude. And while there is success and a proud history in the football program, the Bulldogs have only played in one state championship game, prior to this year back in 2012.
Brandon defeated Oak Grove 21-20 to punch a ticket to the state title game.
The Bulldogs had a great run from 2012-2019, built a new beautiful state of the art stadium; then the bottom fell out of the program. New leadership was sought after, and like the Jags, the Bulldogs found Sam Williams.
After an 0-2 start and oddly, their last loss of this season, against Madison Central, Brandon ran off 10 wins in a row, winning their region and south state, beating opponents by an average of 34-19.
Other ties between the two programs are unique, like when Bobby Hall was the head coach at Madison Central, his protégé, Brad Peterson took over the Bulldogs in 2010. Both coaches agreed to restart the rival in 2013, which had not been played since 2006 at that time.
Brad Peterson later left Brandon to become the head football coach at Madison Central, after Hall retired.
Madison has Big Blue - a fund raising machine; Brandon, likewise has the B-Club, another fund raising machine.
Both teams had great junior high programs this past year and played for the Little Six against one another.
While both towns are different, the programs are very similar, from first year head coaches, to star players across the field and community support that is as good as it gets.
This Friday night, these two metro stalwarts tie it on again, for the 20th time, but this time it’s for all the marbles and the stage is set out of town.
You can expect 49 south to be a parking lot Friday evening as everyone in Madison and Brandon will be making their way to the Rock. Expect a capacity crowd and a great game.
Somebody’s winning more than bragging rights this time - Someone will win a championship. This one should be fun.
Editors note: photos courtesy of SBlive, clarionledger.com and Capital Preps
