By Darron Thomas
In 2007 the Centreville Tigers finished the season 13-2 and brought home an AA State Championship trophy after a 36-21 win over the Marshall Patriots. In 2008 the Centreville Tigers finished the season 13-2 and brought home an AA State Championship trophy after a 28-10 win over the Kirk Raiders. In 2009 the Centreville Tigers could very well make it three straight when November 27th rolls around. Yes they lost three All-Stars from last year’s squad…..Adam Perry, Hunter Brabham, and Justin Henry. They also lost quarterback Kyle Brown who was arguably one of the best all-around athletes in the entire MPSA. Most teams would take a year or so to rebuild after losing such integral pieces of a championship squad, but we’re talking about Centreville….Centreville….Centreville. When knowledgeable high school sports fans hear the word Centreville they immediately think of two things…..”Football and the coach”. Hardnosed, slobber-knocking, make you like it, you can’t stop us, tradition rich. Pure football fans know these terms that apply to Centreville football. They also know that 306 wins and 8 state titles in 32 years means Bill Hurst.
As Coach Bill Hurst enters his 33rd year at Centreville the question that begs to be asked is who could dethrone the two time defending state champions in 2009? Hurst, the winningest active coach in entire state of Mississippi, does have some holes to fill if his squad is to make it back to the title game on November 27th. The Tigers were 2-2 entering week five last season with calls of collapse coming from all directions. Those calls were silenced as Centreville put together a dominating eleven game winning streak to end the season. One hole the coach will not need to worry about filling is the running back position. While then junior Zack Sinclair was ripping apart the Kirk defense to the tune of 264 yards in the title game many fans lost the fact that Sinclair had another year of eligibility remaining. One of the most gifted backs in the entire MPSA will be back for more in 2009. With multiple games with well over 200 yards rushing and an average of three rushing touchdowns per contest in 2008 the upcoming senior campaign for Sinclair could be one for the record books. Sinclair follows in the footsteps of another great running back from Centreville in Nick Goodeau who graduated after the 2007 season.
So the question remains…..can Centreville 3’Peat? Can they be as dominant as Brookhaven has been in basketball for the past five years or Central Private was in baseball for so long? Those questions will begin to be answered on August 21st as the Tigers travel to Amite to take on Oak Forest and the ultimate question will be answered on November 27th. What do I think? Will the Tigers go 13-2 and bring home the trophy in 2009? I don’t believe they will…….14-1 seems more likely!
See ya somewhere………………
