The pads are back on. MHSAA football practice opened Aug. 3, and the first regular-season Friday for every class (1A through 7A) is set for the last week of August. For north Mississippi, that means the lights, the bands, and the unfinished business from December are all about to share the same calendar again.
Tupelo starts where it left off. The Golden Wave walked into Davis Wade Stadium last December one play from a Class 7A title and walked out on the wrong end of a 21–20 loss to Gulfport, a game decided on a touchdown as time expired. Tupelo finished 13–2. The Admirals won their first state championship. Preseason rankings have already put the Golden Wave back near the top of the state conversation, and the Clarion Ledger's early season questions ask whether Tupelo can reach a third straight 7A championship game. Week 1 will not ease anyone in: Brandon visits Tupelo on Aug. 28, one of the loudest openers on the statewide slate.
West Point's standard did not leave with the coach. The Green Wave still own the most football titles in Mississippi (13) and spent another December in a 5A final, falling to Brookhaven after a 13–1 run. What did change is the sideline. Brett Morgan, who spent 17 years on the West Point staff and went 24–4 as head coach with a 2024 5A title, took the Starkville job in February. Starkville finished 6–5 a year ago and exited the 7A playoffs against Tupelo. Morgan inherits a Yellow Jacket program that wants back into the December conversation; West Point inherits a Region 1 race that still runs through Pontotoc, Lafayette, Caledonia, New Hope, and Columbus.
The season still ends in Starkville. For the second straight year, the MHSAA Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi Gridiron Classic is booked for Davis Wade Stadium (Dec. 3–5) with seven classification title games across three nights. North Mississippi programs that climb that far will be playing for a championship an hour from a lot of the towns on the NMSN schedule.
How NMSN covers Friday night. North Mississippi Sports Network does not put a camera on every kickoff. The network picks a Game of the Week, builds a full broadcast around it, and streams it live on YouTube, Facebook, and WatchNMSN.com. Week 1 opens with Itawamba Agricultural at Caledonia: Indians on the road at the Cavaliers, under the lights, with the NMSN crew on site. Scores, calendars, and school pages for the rest of the coverage area live on the Mississippi football hub and the north Mississippi football hub.
The wait is almost over. August ends with real games. December ends in Starkville. Everything in between is why Friday still matters up here.
