By Staff
TALKING THINGS OVER Wayne Academy head football coach Tom Boszor talks things over with his Jaguars following their 14-7 win over DeSoto School on Friday night. The Jaguars of WA take on Trinity Episcopal at Mississippi College for the MPSA A State Championship at 1 p.m. on Thursday. Photo by Austin Bishop/The Meridian Star
By Austin Bishop/The Meridian Star
Nov. 26, 2001
WAYNESBORO In three days, the Wayne Academy Jaguars will be playing to win their third MPSA Class A State Championship in four years.
When veteran coach Tom Boszor took over the club just two weeks before the first game, playing for a state championship may have seemed more like fantasy than fact.
But as the season progressed, the team improved.
The 12-1 Jaguars, who finished second in MPSA Division 3-A to arch-rival Heidelberg Academy, have won three straight games so far in the playoffs, including Friday night's 14-7 victory over DeSoto School for the North A State Championship.
Wayne faces Trinity Episcopal of Natchez at 1 p.m. on Thursday for the state title at Robinson-Hale Field on the campus of Mississippi College in Clinton.
The stands were packed on Friday night with fans expecting another trip to the Clinton for a shot at a third title.
It didn't take a lot of words for senior linebacker/running back Matt Brown to explain why the Jaguars had improved so much.
Boszor said this team is not one that has just one or two great players, but is one that is full of weapons, both on offense and defense.
The Jaguars picked off three passes in the win against DeSoto. That is the norm for this team, not the exception.
While the state championship teams of 1998 and 1999 had its share of blowout wins, this Wayne Academy squad has proven it can win the tight ones as well.
The Jaguars beat a tough Tri-County team 19-6 in the third game of the year, blanked Columbia 14-0 at the midway point, then the following week took a 21-15 squeaker in a division game against Sylva-Bay Academy.
The next week the Jags outgunned Prentiss Christian 43-38, then last week in the playoffs Wayne came from behind to beat DeSoto by a touchdown.