Summer Previews: Mississippi 6A Region 3

Get 25% off your subscription by entering AJ30 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! With multiple teams in this region competing for state titles over the last 5 years, Mississippi’s 6A Region 3 is one of the most difficult gauntlets in the state. Top to bottom, this region has a ton of talent and most of these teams would be deep playoff contenders in other regions state and classification wide. Today, we will be previewing 6A Region 3 and giving our preseason picks! <h5>Preseason Player Picks</h5> Offensive MVPs: QB [player_tooltip player_id="273250" first="Landon" last="Varnes"] (Brandon), RB [player_tooltip player_id="108964" first="Jarvis" last="Durr"] (Brandon), WR [player_tooltip player_id="139635" first="Daniel" last="Hill"] (Meridian), OL [player_tooltip player_id="108895" first="Tanner" last="Welch"] (Northwest Rankin), OL [player_tooltip player_id="344089" first="Taccofah" last="Lewis"] (Pearl) Defensive MVPs: DL [player_tooltip player_id="350949" first="Ronnie" last="Blossom"] (Warren Central), DL [player_tooltip player_id="106311" first="Kelton" last="Mickell"] (Petal), LB [player_tooltip player_id="346333" first="Jalen" last="Owens"] (Oak Grove), DB [player_tooltip player_id="340817" first="Jaylen" last="Aborom"] (Oak Grove) <h5>2021 Season Standings</h5> 1. Brandon 2. Oak Grove 3. Warren Central 4. Pearl 5. Meridian 6. Terry 7. Northwest Rankin 8. Petal <h5>2022 Season Projected Standings</h5> 1. Brandon 2. Oak Grove 3. Warren Central 4. Pearl 5. Northwest Rankin 6. Petal 7. Meridian 8. Terry Brandon A state championship runner up team last season, Brandon surprised a lot of folks after a 0-2 start to the year. The Bulldogs don’t look to be rebuilding much either due to the amount of talent returning to the program. Boasting a 3 headed monster in the backfield, QB [player_tooltip player_id="273250" first="Landon" last="Varnes"] and RBs [player_tooltip player_id="273259" first="Nate" last="Blount IV"] and [player_tooltip player_id="107036" first="Lester" last="Miller"] equip the Bulldogs with threats to score from anywhere on the field. Brandon returns many of its offensive line starters as well, including Southern Miss commit [player_tooltip player_id="108896" first="Luke" last="Rogers"]. On the defensive side of the ball, Brandon returns many of its front 7 members and secondary that gave a lot of teams trouble last season. This is a very complete team that should be a legitimate contender for the 6A state title yet again. Players to Know: OL [player_tooltip player_id="108896" first="Luke" last="Rogers"], RB [player_tooltip player_id="108964" first="Jarvis" last="Durr"], DB [player_tooltip player_id="107036" first="Lester" last="Miller"], QB [player_tooltip player_id="273250" first="Landon" last="Varnes"], RB [player_tooltip player_id="273259" first="Nate" last="Blount IV"], WR Devin Thigpen, LB Dysart Bell Oak Grove Only a year removed from winning a state championship in 2020, Oak Grove put up another great season last year with losses to only Greenville Christian and Brandon twice. This team has all the pieces to pick right back up where they left off at last season. Although Oak Grove graduated multiple starters on the offensive line and quarterback Kabe Barnett, this is a team that seems to reload easily every season. Rising junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="344082" first="Anthony" last="Maddox"] looks to be the future signal caller for the Warriors and showed promise in limited time last season. Luckily for him, he will have no shortage of receiving options. The defensive unit for Oak Grove is what will make this team a tough one to beat. Loaded in the trenches with players like DL [player_tooltip player_id="350938" first="Andrew" last="Maddox"] and LB [player_tooltip player_id="346333" first="Jalen" last="Owens"], the Warriors can get after any passer or running back in the region. The secondary is nothing to sleep on either. As talented as this team is, we don’t see a reason that they couldn’t be a legitimate state title contender again either. Players to Know: DL [player_tooltip player_id="350938" first="Andrew" last="Maddox"], QB [player_tooltip player_id="344082" first="Anthony" last="Maddox"], LB [player_tooltip player_id="346333" first="Jalen" last="Owens"], DB [player_tooltip player_id="340817" first="Jaylen" last="Aborom"], WR [player_tooltip player_id="340823" first="Jaquerrius" last="Gray"], RB Kylin Champagne Warren Central Making it to the second round of the playoffs last season, Warren Central surprised a lot of folks with their round one win over D’Iberville. A bit of a senior heavy squad last year, Warren Central will be relying on a lot of younger players to step up this season. Fortunately, a lot of the Vikings underclassmen got some valuable game reps last year and came onto the scene in a big way. Senior QB Jack Wright returns and showed a lot of promise in the spring game earlier this year. He will have several options available at WR and a dependable run game to go with that. On the defensive side of the ball, this team shines. Young defensive linemen [player_tooltip player_id="350949" first="Ronnie" last="Blossom"] and [player_tooltip player_id="106320" first="Royveon" last="Qualls"] played a lot of great ball last year and will look to lead the trenches again this season. Players to Know: DL Ronnie Blossom, DL [player_tooltip player_id="106320" first="Royveon" last="Qualls"], WR Trey Hall, DB Zack Evans, LB Logan Myles Pearl After losing 4/5 games at the end of the season last year, Pearl is looking to rebound in the 2022 calendar. Losing quarterback Jerry Johnson and running back Jamari Thompson to graduation, as well as multiple members of the offensive line, Pearl has a lot of holes to fill in with younger players this year. Pearl returns many receivers who recorded catches last season and RB Jamarion Turner who rushed for over 150 yards, but the Pirates must relearn how to live without their historically talented 2022 graduating class. On the offensive line, rising junior [player_tooltip player_id="344089" first="Taccofah" last="Lewis"] will look to lead the offensive line unit. On the defensive side of the ball, Pearl loses multiple members of their front 7, but has a lot of young players ready to get to work. They return a few members of their talented secondary, spearheaded by DB [player_tooltip player_id="344137" first="Kayvion" last="Freeman"]. Players to Know: OL [player_tooltip player_id="344089" first="Taccofah" last="Lewis"], DB [player_tooltip player_id="344137" first="Kayvion" last="Freeman"], Northwest Rankin Finishing 2-8 on the year last season, Northwest Rankin is looking to get back to their winning ways that they are only a year removed from. The talent is there and the Cougars bring back a lot of good players in the trenches to start making things happen. Offensive linemen [player_tooltip player_id="108895" first="Tanner" last="Welch"] and Landon Bridges provide a strong side of the offensive line to run behind and protect for rising junior QB Wes White. White looks to be the front runner for the job this season, playing in a few games last year and doing a pretty good job. Northwest Rankin will look for younger skill players to step up, but also return WR Brendan Brown. On the defensive side of the ball, the Cougars bring back some key front 7 players. This is a unit that must force more turnovers this season in order to be in a better position to win ball games. Don’t be surprised if Northwest Rankin finishes a lot better than projected; this is a talented bunch. Players to Know: OL [player_tooltip player_id="108895" first="Tanner" last="Welch"], DL Henley Steward, LB Favian Key, OL Landon Bridges, QB Wes White Petal Missing the playoffs and finishing last in the region, Petal is looking to put things all together this season. With the new addition of quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="114386" first="Deljay" last="Bailey"], Petal now has a game changer at the quarterback position that could give the overall team the spark that it needs. Bailey has a huge arm and is capable of leading a great spread offense, but he will look for younger wide receivers on the roster to step up and be ready to play. The defensive side of the ball has a lot of talent on it, with defensive backs [player_tooltip player_id="340741" first="Amari" last="Butler"] and [player_tooltip player_id="346335" first="Julius" last="Meggs"] leading the charge for the secondary. Defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id="106311" first="Kelton" last="Mickell"] has been a productive trench player and will look to embrace a leadership role this season. All in all, this is yet another team that could surprise some people this year. The talent is there for a good season. Players to Know: QB [player_tooltip player_id="114386" first="Deljay" last="Bailey"], DL [player_tooltip player_id="106311" first="Kelton" last="Mickell"], DB [player_tooltip player_id="340741" first="Amari" last="Butler"], DB [player_tooltip player_id="346335" first="Julius" last="Meggs"] Meridian Losing a lot of last years starters to graduation, Meridian looks to be ready to rebuild and reload this upcoming season. There are a lot of great pieces on offense to work with, primarily WRs [player_tooltip player_id="139635" first="Daniel" last="Hill"] and Quindarrius Jones. These two have big time potential and should be the primary ball handlers this upcoming season. Hill, one of the top players in the state, will look to lead this offense to big things this year just as he did last year. The defensive side of the ball will be replacing a lot of key members of the defensive line, but bring back DL Joshua [player_tooltip player_id="139393" first="[player_tooltip player_id="139393" first="[player_tooltip player_id="139393" first="[player_tooltip player_id="139393" first="Ruffin" last=""]" last=""]" last=""]" last=""] who played well last season. It would not surprise me if both Jones and Hill played bigger roles on defense this upcoming year and produced at a high level. Don’t count out the Wildcats this season; with the level of athletes they have, anything can happen. Players to Know: ATH [player_tooltip player_id="139635" first="Daniel" last="Hill"], ATH Quindarrius Jones, RB Howard Atterberry, DL Joshua [player_tooltip player_id="139393" first="[player_tooltip player_id="139393" first="[player_tooltip player_id="139393" first="[player_tooltip player_id="139393" first="Ruffin" last=""]" last=""]" last=""]" last=""] Terry A really young team last season, Terry ended the year on a high note winning their last two games of the season, both of which were region games. Terry lacked a lot of depth last year and relied on a lot of young players to step up and play against some of the best of the best. Although the Bulldogs only won 3 games, the young players gained invaluable varsity experience to come out even stronger this year. Terry is still looking for some offensive answers, but has a strong quarterback returning in Carlos Sanders. Sanders is a nice runner who can pass well to playmakers OJ Marshall and [player_tooltip player_id="346405" first="Kiandre" last="Terry"]. The defensive unit will also be looking for younger players to step up. Linebacker Amarrien Brown had a great season last year and will have to lead the defense again this season. With all the young talent coming up at Terry, do not be surprised if they show out in a big way this year. Players to Know: LB Amarrien Brown, WR OJ Marshall, WR [player_tooltip player_id="346405" first="Kiandre" last="Terry"], QB Carlos Sanders