Cobras lead local contingent with 5 picked for MAC All-State football
Published 4:46 pm Friday, December 11, 2020
The conclusion of the Mississippi High School Athletics Activities Association (MHSAA) football season last week was also the occasion for post season awards to be dished out by the Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC).
Locally no team had more players selected for MAC All-State honors than the Wesson Cobras, who saw five members of their team picked.
Sophomore quarterback Will Loy and senior returner Antrelle Sims were named to the MAC 2A All-State team.
Loy was fourth overall in the state in passing yards with 2,759 yards this season. The son of Wesson coach Jeremy Loy, he threw 39 touchdowns and only three interceptions as Wesson won Region 7-2A with an unbeaten record before being knocked out of the postseason in the second round by Union High.
Loy’s favorite target was the speedy Sims who caught a team-high 57 passes for 1,041 yards and 15 touchdowns. Sims ended the year with over 1,400 all-purpose yards as he scored three times via kickoff return touchdowns.
Originally not selected for the MAC Bernard Blackwell All-Star game, Sims has been added to the roster and will suit up for the south squad in the game on Dec. 19 at Brandon High.
Picked for the MAC All-State second team from Wesson were junior linebacker Collin McGowan, sophomore free safety Chris Davis and senior athlete Jason Edwards.
As Loy was the offensive MVP for Region 7-2A, McGowen was the defensive MVP for the division.
He made a team-high 152 tackles with 18 tackles coming for a loss. McGowen also forced three fumbles while recovering two for the Cobras.
Davis led Wesson with six interceptions this season as he also recovered a pair of fumbles and caused one. A talent at wide receiver as well, he caught 42 passes for 727 yards and 10 scores. Defensively he made 55 tackles in 2020.
Edwards is listed as an athlete on the MAC roster and that’s a good indicator of what he brought to the field for Loy’s team during his career.
As a running back he carried the ball 56 times for a team-high 515 yards and nine scores this season. He also caught 29 passes for 500 yards and nine more touchdowns. Finally, as a linebacker he was responsible for 61 tackles as a senior.
West Lincoln coach Brad Bland had two of his Bears picked for the MAC 2A All-State team in senior long-snapper Tate Smith and senior punter Justin Pratt.
Smith has been in the middle of everything during his gridiron career playing both center and middle linebacker for WL.
Smith made a team-high 78 tackles defensively in 2020.
When Pratt wasn’t punting, he was playing wide receiver or defensive back. He averaged 40.4 yards per punt with a long of 51 yards on the season and eight of his kicks were downed inside the 20-yard line.
Lawrence County senior defensive lineman Treizjan McClain was also picked for the MAC 4A All-State second team defense. The powerfully built McClain was the edge setter on the end of the Cougar defensive front for coach Jesse Anderson.