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HATTIESBURG — Twenty-seven years after it came up short in its only Mississippi state championship game appearance, Raleigh can finally lay hands on the trophy.
At M.M Roberts Stadium on Friday, the Lions took down Noxubee County, 55-52, in a 3A title game that featured the most combined points of any MHSAA state championship game since at least 1981.
“When I got here, this was our goal,” Raleigh coach Ryan Higdon said. “The community finally just started believing, and they’ve been behind us all year. This is as much for them as it is for me, our staff, our kids. There’s nobody left in Raleigh today. They’re all here supporting these kids, and these kids got the job done for them.”
The game quickly became a clash of two top talents on the offensive side of the ball: Four-star Ole Miss commit Suntarine Perkins for Raleigh (14-1) and sophomore quarterback Kamario Taylor for the Tigers (10-5).
Perkins, playing running back on offense, carried the ball 32 times for 331 yards and four touchdowns, but it was a play he made on the defensive side of the ball that secured history.
After the Lions turned the ball over on downs midway through the fourth quarter with a one-point lead, Perkins undercut a Noxubee County receiver to intercept Taylor and set Raleigh up at the Tigers’ 23-yard line. He then fought through contact for a 16-yard touchdown to help secure the win, with Rebels coach Lane Kiffin and Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding in attendance.
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The contest closely resembled an oversized basketball game.
The two offenses moved up and down the field at will, combining for 13 touchdowns. There were only two punts between the two sides and 992 yards of total offense.
It was clear what kind of game this would be from the opening two minutes, when Perkins embarked on a 74-yard touchdown run on Raleigh’s first play to open the scoring.
Some prognosticators expected a comfortable Raleigh victory in this game, but Taylor did his part to ensure the Lions felt the pressure. He went 14-for-24 passing for 282 yards and five touchdowns.
The Tigers carried a one-point lead into the halftime locker room thanks to two first-half fumbles by Raleigh, but the Lions recovered, going ahead 55-46 with 2:37 left on Perkins’ touchdown and subsequent two-point conversion.
Raleigh had to thwart one final Noxubee County charge. The Lions went down the field in 34 seconds to trim the lead to 55-52. A mad scramble for the football broke out on the ensuing kickoff, but the Lions emerged from the bottom of the pile with the ball, and Perkins delivered the two first downs they needed to close out a title.
“We’ve been working at this since we were five and six, the same group of boys I’m with now,” Perkins said. “To be able to win the first 3A championship, it’s amazing. I thank God for this moment.”
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