Is something in the water in Madison? Both Madison Central High School (MCHS) and Madison-Ridgeland Academy (MRA) football teams won their Mississippi State Championship games.
The two schools – one public and one private – are both located in Madison and had the most successful seasons in Mississippi’s 6A division. MCHS won the 6A MHSAA state championship – its first in 22 years – against Brandon High School with the new leadership of Head Coach Toby Collums, who came to the school earlier this year.
“Obviously, it is a great feeling,” Collums said. “Knowing that it has been since 1999 that they’ve played in or won a state championship – that is in the back of everybody’s mind.”
Collums said the team set it as one of their goals at the beginning of the season to make the state championship playoffs and, once they did it, the goal became to win it.
“To be able to succeed and pull that off is just a very special feeling for the coaches, the players, and then it’s very proud for the community,” Collum said. “I know how much pride there is in MCHS and the athletic programs and its success. It is just a plethora of emotions that go along with it because you are proud of your kids, proud for the community, and it is just hard to put into words what the feeling is to be honest.”
With any new coaching staff, the first year can often be a year of development and, for Collums, it came down to developing trust amongst the coaching staff, which the players also begin to feed off of. This trust partnered with a team consisting of 30 seniors and an invested community led to the success of the team this season. Collums said the biggest key to any team’s success is the players themselves and their chemistry playing hard for and with each other.
“It is just kind of the perfect storm. Everything fit together from the coaching staff to the players in the locker room. We have a ton of support with our administration and community. I am going to keep going back to the community part of it because there is a lot of pride in our athletic programs.”
Collums said they will enjoy their win through the holidays and, once they come back to school in January, they will start their offseason program and prepare for next year.
MRA won their 6A MAIS state championship a week earlier against Hartfield Academy claiming their third state championship title in a row.
While Head Coach Herbert Davis couldn’t be reached for comment, Collums said the community support is very similar between the two Madison schools and that may have something to do with the success of these Madison athletes, Collums said.
“When you get that kind of support, the kids take a lot of pride in playing hard and representing,” Collums said.
Madison’s Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler echoed the importance of the community in the two football teams’ successes.
“It’s a blessing to have that many gifted athletes in one city,” Hawkins Butler said. “What makes it even more special is Madison’s top academic rating statewide. Madison is attracting the best and the brightest in all areas. Madison families promote community spirit, healthy minds and bodies, and Christian values. This combination paves the way for unlimited success.”
