By Darron Thomas
With just over five weeks until the 2009 football season kicks off it brings to mind what I had been told for many years as I grew older…..”The older you get the faster time goes by”. I simply shrugged my shoulders and paid that comment little attention, but now as weeks seem to fly by like days I fully understand the scope of that statement. It seems like yesterday that the Centreville Tigers were dismantling the Kirk Raiders 28-10 to capture their second straight MPSA AA State Championship.
The 2009 football season brings about changes that most MPSA fans are familiar with. The re-alignment, which occurs every two years, plays havoc with pundit’s abilities to forecast games and forces fans to devote just a little more time in an attempt to familiarize themselves with new teams and newly aligned districts as the season nears. With all that being said, it is a necessary function and it spices up the rumor mills and speculators speculate each time the re-alignment approaches. What schools are moving up or down? Which schools have funny numbers? Which schools feel a move is unjustified? To the fans and/or parents who are new to the MPSA it takes a little head scratching and getting used to but it’s in the best interest of everyone.
With this season’s re-alignment comes a balance that was absent the past two seasons. In 2007 & 2008 the south consisted of 16 teams while the north was made up of 11. This made the playoff scenario a mess as two teams from the south made the trek to the north as wildcard squads. Gone from South AA football is Trinity, Riverfield, and Prentiss, who all move down to single A. Simpson remains in AA but moves to the north while Copiah and Oak Forest move up to AAA. With the changes come the separation of old district rivals such as Bowling Green and Oak Forest. The two will meet in week three but some of the luster may be missing. The move of Simpson to the north disappointed many who saw the potential of the new district 4AA as being the best AA district in the MPSA. Now many can only imagine what a district with Brookhaven, Bowling Green, Columbia, and Simpson could have produced in football and basketball. The loss of tradition rich Trinity can’t be replaced although the entry of Glenbrook is a positive. Joining the Glenbrook Apaches is Central Hinds, Cenla, and WCCA.
On Thursday August 20th the Columbia Cougars will get the honors of kicking off the 2009 football season as they travel to Hattiesburg to take on the Presbyterian Bobcats. I’ll be there with camera and pad in hand as I did in basketball this past season with the hopes of capturing a few shots of big plays with one hand and jotting down stats with the other, then racing home to edit and upload photos and put into words the game I just watched. November 28, 2008 seems like yesterday as a state champion was crowned and I’m wise enough to know now that November 27, 2009, when a new one is crowned, will be on us like tomorrow.
See ya somewhere…………….
