The high school football season in Mississippi came to a close last week with championship games in all six classifications. Oak Grove was among the winners,
edging
Oxford 29-28 in the Class 6A championship game and finishing No. 1 in the MaxPreps Top 25 computer rankings.
That victory, coupled with a 13-0 record and consistent excellence this
season, makes Oak Grove the 2020 MaxPreps Champion for the state of Mississippi.
Junior quarterback
Kabe Barnett scored on a 10-yard scamper on a fourth-and-2 situation with 7.1 seconds left — his second of the game — to close to 28-27. Instead of kicking an extra point to send the game to overtime, head coach Drew Causey went for a two-point conversion, the win and the championship.
Barnett, who accounted for 273 yards, hit tight end
Trayvon Moore on a drag to give the Warriors their second state title and first since 2013 when NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre was the team's offensive coordinator.
The Warriors lost state title games in 2018 and 2019.
"I told our offensive coaches if we got it, we're going for two and go ahead and win it," Casey told reporters afterward. "It never even crossed my mind to kick it."
Oak Grove outscored opponents 568-273 on the season. Barnett threw for 2,387 yards and 38 touchdowns in the first 12 games, and also rushed for 443 yards and eight other scores. Senior running back
Courtland Harris rushed for 976 yards and 13 touchdowns. Junior receiver
Tyrell Pollard had 50 catches for 983 yards and 15 touchdowns.
On defense, junior linebacker
Zach Little had team highs of 112 tackles and 13 sacks while sophomore defensive
Jaylen Aborom had six interceptions.
2020 MHSAA state championsFinal Mississippi MaxPreps Top 25
About the MaxPreps computer rankings Our computer rankings utilize the huge number of game results stored in the MaxPreps database. Generally, the more a team wins, the higher the ranking. However, the system takes into account quality wins (against other highly-ranked opponents) and strength of schedule. For example, a team's ranking is hurt more by losing to a team that is ranked below it than a team ranked ahead. Playoff wins are weighted higher than regular season games.
Other factors that will affect the rankings are times when MaxPreps has incomplete or inaccurate information. We will correct errors when they are reported to us. If we are missing a score, report it to us on the team's MaxPreps page. If we are missing a game on the schedule, send us a correction request.
