Meet the Sun Herald All-South Mississippi Football Team for 2022 season
It was an historic season of high school football on the Coast. A state championship was returned and South State representation was unprecedented.
The driving force for the rise of South Mississippi football was its athletes. The region produced multiple Mr. Football winners, sent a pair to the U.S. Army All-American bowl and saw several players sign with major college programs.
The state’s rushing and passing champs both reside in the Lower Six counties.
To represent the wide array of the Coast’s success, the honors are spread out amongst four different teams. Ocean Springs quarterback Bray Hubbard is once again the Player of the Year.
Gautier’s Kaden Irving and Picayune’s Dante Dowdell are both Co-Offensive Player’s of the Year and Maroon Tide linebacker Amarion Tyson is the Defensive Player of the Year.
Stone head coach John Feaster is our newest Coach of the Year, making him the school’s first winner of the honor.
Player of the Year
Hubbard is our back-to-back Sun Herald Player of the Year after earning his second 6A Mr. Football honor. The Alabama signee accounted for career-highs in passing yards and rushing yards, throwing for 2,197 and running for 1,760.
Hubbard totaled 41 touchdowns and led the Greyhounds to the South State title game, a stage a 6A Coast school had reached only once before.
Set to play defensive back for the Crimson Tide, Hubbard finished second on the Coast in passing yards and first among all quarterbacks in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns (20).
Fan Vote Player of the Year
Dante Dowdell, Picayune
Over 16,000 votes poured in for the 5A Mr. Football award winner. Dowdell is the Fan’s Choice Player of the Year after a championship-winning season capped a career that saw him rush for over 5,000 yards.
Vancleave’s John Peterson finished second in the voting with nearly 8,000 votes.
Co-Offensive Players of the Year
Dante Dowdell, Picayune
Kaden Irving, Gautier
The Sun Herald is awarding two players for an honor for the first time after Dowdell and Gautier gunslinger Kaden Irving combined to score 94 touchdowns in 2022.
Dowdell, an Oregon signee, recorded his second 2,000-yard rushing season in a row while scoring a career-high 31 touchdowns on the ground en route to another 5A state title.
Irving, heading to Ole Miss to play baseball, is the state’s passing champion after throwing for 3,953 yards and becoming the third player in Coast football history to reach 10,000 career passing yards.
Defensive Player of the Year
Amarion Tyson, Picayune
Tyson may be pound-for-pound the best athlete in Mississippi. Listed at just 5-foot-6, Tyson could be found picking himself up off the ball carrier on nearly every play. The junior totaled 162 tackles and 19.5 tackles for loss.
Tyson, who earned an offer from Oregon, also recorded 5.5 sacks, two interceptions and five pass deflections.
Coach of the Year
John Feaster, Stone
Stone turned in a generational season, reaching heights it had not seen in 30 prior seasons. In Feaster’s seventh season, the Tomcats (9-3) won their first district title since 1994. Stone won three playoff games and reached the South State title for the first time since 1991.
Feaster became the third-winningest coach in school history and his four playoff wins trail only Larry Easterling.
Team of the Year
Picayune
The Maroon Tide accomplished history this season. The first ever 15-0 season with a state championship trophy in South Mississippi history was achieved by Cody Stogner’s bunch when Picayune buried West Point to earn its second consecutive ring.
Picayune won 14 of its 15 games by double digits and is riding a MS Gulf Coast all-time record 26-game winning streak.
Sun Herald All-South Mississippi First Team
QB Connor Tice, Stone: Tice threw for just over 2,000 yards and 26 touchdowns while also adding six more scores on the ground as a junior.
QB Deuce Knight, George County: Knight was a Second Team All-State selection after a season that saw the sophomore score 23 total touchdowns. Knight has offers from Ole Miss and Tennessee.
QB DK Jenkins, St. Martin: Jenkins made his final year count, throwing for 1,530 yards and 17 touchdowns while rushing for 612 yards and another four scores.
RB John Peterson, Vancleave: The statewide rushing champ pulled Vancleave back into the playoffs with 2,616 rushing yards and 34 scoring runs, while earning First Team All-State honors.
RB Chandler Chapman, St. Stanislaus: Chapman rewrote the Rock-a-Chaw record book with a 1,833-yard season accompanied by 17 rushing touchdowns.
RB Avan Jarvis, Poplarville: The senior broke out in 2022 as one piece of a two-headed monster at Poplarville, rushing for 1,484 yards and 24 scores.
WR Dillon Alfred, Gautier: The sophomore broke out with a Coast-high 1,196 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns on 57 receptions. Holds an offer from Ole Miss.
WR Kelvin Beavers, Gautier: Beavers caught 63 passes for 977 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior.
WR AJ Phillips, Gautier: Phillips led the Coast with 65 catches. The senior rounds out the Gator trio with 875 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns. He’s heading to Co-Lin C.C.
WR Chasden Collins, Stone: Collins caught 61 passes for 801 yards and 10 touchdowns.
OL Ilias Rida, St. Stanislaus: The German import is an All-State selection and a Southeastern Louisiana signee.
OL Jeremy Flora, Pascagoula: The senior is an All-State selection, an AL-MS All Star Game participant and holds an offer from Alcorn.
OL Ladarius Jordan, Gulfport: Another senior First Team All-State pick, Jordan holds an offer from Nichols.
OL Jeffrey Allan Grimme, Vancleave: A Second Team All-State lineman who helped lead one of the Coast’s top rushing attacks.
OL Kane Edwards, Poplarville: An All-State pick, Edwards participated in the North-South All Star Game and is heading to East Mississippi C.C.
DL Jacob Bradford, St. Stanislaus: The iron man junior totaled 112 tackles, 30 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks.
DL Bryton McInnis, Stone: McInnis had 85 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and three sacks his senior season.
DL Jamonte Waller, Picayune: South Mississippi’s sack leader, Waller had 106 tackles, 24 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks his junior season.
DL Spencer Cornell, St. Stanislaus: Cornell had 109 stops, 19 tackles for loss and 6.5 tackles for loss as a junior.
EDGE Trace Carter, Ocean Springs: Carter again caused havoc in the backfield, picking up 25 tackles for loss and six sacks to along with 96 stops and an interception.
LB Jeffrey Hopgood, Hancock: Hopgood tallied 133 tackles and 10 tackles for loss during his junior season.
LB Landon Pettis, Gulfport: The junior had 132 tackles, 11 stops in the backfield and one sack.
LB Nakiel Trotter, Poplarville: Trotter had 123 tackles his senior season, plus seven tackles for loss and a sack.
LB Monyeh Boykin, Gautier: Boykin was South Mississippi’s tackle champ, making 173 stops with seven tackles for loss.
LB Xzavier Hye, Gautier: Hye recorded 160 tackles his junior season, plus eight stops in the backfield and four sacks.
DB Prince Cottonham, Gulfport: Cottonham led the Coast in interceptions with eight as a junior. He made 49 tackles and broke up 12 passes.
DB Damaryion Fillmore, Biloxi: Fillmore picked off five passes and totaled four pass breakups, while adding 580 rushing yards and six scores on offense.
DB Tysen Hawkins, Bay: Hawkins made 110 stops, with 14 tackles for loss and six sacks as a senior.
DB Yaviel Lopez, Gulfport: Lopez had 104 tackles as a junior safety, making eight stops in the backfield with three sacks.
ATH Chris Davis, Picayune: The junior rushed for 1,078 yards and 15 touchdowns, had 634 return yards with a punt return touchdown and intercepted three passes on defense. He also punted 19 times, averaging 35.4 yards per kick.
ATH Daniel Pickens, Resurrection: Pickens scored 10 times on the ground, three times on the receiving end, twice through the air and returned a punt for a touchdown, all while amassing 1,490 all-purpose yards.
PK Bart Edminston, Ocean Springs: Edminston hit seven of his 10 field goal attempts with a long of 33 yards. Of his 94 kickoffs, 61 went for touchbacks.
Sun Herald All-South Mississippi Second Team
QB Christian Turner, Harrison Central: Turner threw for 1,994 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed for another seven scores. He’s heading to Pearl River C.C.
QB Jacob Palazzo, Gulfport: Palazzo threw for 1,977 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior. He is a Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. baseball commit.
QB Hudson Osborne, St. Stanislaus: Osborne tossed 17 touchdown passes his senior season and totaled 1,480 yards through the air.
RB Zach Gullung, Hancock: Gullung rushed for 1,456 yards and 13 touchdowns in his junior season.
RB Maurice Travis, Poplarville: Travis wrapped up his career with another 1,000-yard season, this time going for 1,408 and scoring 20 times.
RB Daylon Collins, Stone: Collins ran for 1,347 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior.
WR Duran Parish, Biloxi: Parish caught 48 passes for 713 yards and eight touchdowns. He is signed to play at Vanderbilt.
WR Tyree Barnett, Harrison Central: The sophomore had 814 receiving yards and five touchdowns on 56 catches.
WR Andrew Bradford, Stone: Bradford hauled in 45 catches his senior season for 766 yards and 12 touchdowns.
WR JP Coulter, Ocean Springs: Coulter caught 54 passes for 738 yards and seven scores, also had two rushing touchdowns and two kick return touchdowns.
OL Kaleb Ladner, Stone: A two-time All-Region pick, Ladner was critical to the Tomcats’ turnaround.
OL Deshawn Feazell, Moss Point: Feazell is a Second Team All-State selection as only a sophomore.
OL Peyton Wells, Picayune: The interior lineman leaves Picayune after becoming a key cog in one of the best offensive lines in South Mississippi.
OL Gage Thibodeaux, Picayune: The senior left tackle has helped lead one of the state’s best run games throughout his career.
OL Casey Tynes, George County: Tynes was a First Team All-State pick and participated in the North-South All Star Game.
DL Jabari McWilliams, Picayune: McWilliams had 88 tackles as a junior, with 10 tackles for loss and two sacks.
DL Mekhi Redmond, Gautier: Redmond made 104 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, four sacks and an interception his senior season.
DL CC Herrien, Stone: Herrien had 79 tackles, 24 tackles for loss and five sacks his senior season.
DL Amarion Ware, Harrison Central: Ware recorded 54 stops, 16 tackles for loss, seven sacks and an interception as a senior.
EDGE Landon Badon, Harrison Central: Badon had 59 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 11 sacks as a junior.
LB Mark Will, Poplarville: Will finished his career at Poplarville with a 111-tackle season that saw him make 13 stops behind the line with three sacks.
LB TJ Dunsford, East Central: The Southern Miss baseball signee had 104 tackles and 24 tackles for loss as a senior.
LB Jared Huff, East Central: Huff made 101 stops with 14 tackles for loss and three sacks in his senior season.
LB Kaleb Raston, Moss Point: Raston had 98 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, two sacks and three interceptions as a senior.
LB Eric Moore, Ocean Springs: Moore’s first season in Ocean Springs saw him rack up 107 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, two sacks and two interceptions.
DB Jaquain Payton, Gulfport: Payton recorded 112 tackles and three tackles for loss as a junior.
DB Gavin Graham, Pearl River Central: Graham made 89 stops, one tackle for loss and forced four fumbles.
DB Kdrian Smith, Stone: Smith had 78 tackles, intercepted four passes and totaled seven pass breakups as a senior.
DB Micah McKay, Pass Christian: McKay had 80 tackles, three tackles for loss and four interceptions his junior year.
ATH DJ Biggs, Christian Collegiate: An MAIS All-State selection as a junior, Biggs ran for 1,903 yards and 31 scores while also passing for over 500 yards and eight touchdowns. Biggs registered 65 tackles on defense with three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
ATH Noreel White, St. Martin: White accounted for 1,109 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns, while recording 55 tackles and three interceptions on defense. The junior has offers from LSU, Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
PK Evan Noel, St. Stanislaus: Noel led South Mississippi with eight made field goals as a sophomore in 13 attempts. He had 42 touchbacks in 61 kickoffs.
Up Next
Five underclassmen to watch in 2023
- QB William Brady, Long Beach
- RB Jacquez Alexander-Dedeaux, Pass Christian
- RB Jaylen Antoine, Bay
- RB Trey Harris, West Harrison
- WR Brenn Moody, George County
Honorable mention
QB Zach Marlin, Biloxi; QB Max Askew, Resurrection; QB William Brady, Long Beach; RB Taboris Charles, Moss Point; RB Grey Bradley, East Central; RB Thomas Salloum, St. Patrick; RB Eli Smith, East Central; FB Darnell Smith, Picayune; WR Cameron Joseph, Gulfport; WR Christian White, Ocean Springs; WR Jackson Dicerbo, St. Stanislaus; OL Owen Williams, Ocean Springs; OL Ziron Brown, Bay
DL Daquawn Payton, Gulfport; DL Aden Dedeaux, Poplarville; DL John Michael Moran, St. Patrick; DL Jeffery Rush, Pascagoula; DL Zavion Coleman, Picayune; DL Bruno Dall, St. Stanislaus; EDGE Brason Owenby, East Central; EDGE Brady Dowdy, Vancleave; LB Gavin Allen, St. Martin; LB Jayce Cummings, Biloxi; LB Ethan Davis, Vancleave; LB Treyton Mitchell, Pearl River Central; LB Keshawn Thomas, Ocean Springs; LB Malcolm Gowdy, D’Iberville, DB Marcus Washington, D’Iberville
ATH Otis Brooks, St. Patrick; ATH Jalen Anderson, St. Martin; ATH Keilon Parnell, Pascagoula, ATH Will Gray, Ocean Springs; ATH Jamarious Brown, Moss Point
This story was originally published January 9, 2023 at 8:00 AM.
