Mississippi Mr. Football Awards announced for 2023

CLINTON, MS  - Thursday, November 9 

Recipients of the annual Mississippi Mr. Football award were selected on Thursday, November 9, in each of the Mississippi High School Activities Association’s seven classifications in conjunction with the Mississippi Association of Coaches. The winners were selected by a committee of high school coaches and members of the media state-wide.
In order of classification, the 2023 Mississippi Mr. Football award winners follow:

  • 1A:  Gavin Griffin - Velma Jackson
  • 2A:  Adarius McDougle - Sebastopol
  • 3A:  Chase Richardson - Winona
  • 4A:  William Echoles - Houston
  • 5A:  Kahnen Daniels - West Point
  • 6A:  Jamonta Waller - Picayune
  • 7A:  Trey Petty - Starkville

 
Class 7A
Trey Petty, QB, Starkville
After leading Starkville to a state championship in his sophomore and junior seasons, the Illinois commit picked up right where he left off in his senior year. Petty has consistently ranked among the top quarterbacks in the state, and completed 128 of his 201 passes for 1,766 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions this year. He added 728 rushing yards, averaging 12.3 yards a carry, with seven touchdowns.
 

Class 6A
Jamonta Waller, TE/DE, Picayune
Picayune’s big 6-foot-2, 225-pound athlete may be the best blocking tight end in the state, but it’s his prowess on the defensive line that garnered a Mr. Football nod. Waller was instrumental in Picayune’s biggest wins, tallying 56 total tackles, nine sacks, 19 stops behind the line, two forced fumbles and one blocked punt. 
 

Class 5A
Kahnen Daniels, RB, West Point
Daniels was a finalist for this award in his junior year, so we all had him penciled in as this year’s winner, and the University of Florida commit gave us no reason to change that. Daniels has rushed for 1,930 yards on 189 carries with 21 touchdowns in 10 games. In a Green Wave offense bent on ball control, nobody controls the ball better.
 

Class 4A
William Echoles, OL/DL, Houston
You don’t see many linemen picking up this kind of post-season award very often, but Echoles is not just any lineman. The six-foot-4, 290-pound Ole Miss commit is one of the highest-rated o-line recruits to come through Mississippi in the past decade. He finished the season more than 25 pancake blocks on offense, and recorded 59 tackles — including 18 for a loss — and seven sacks on defense.
 

Class 3A
Chase Richardson, QB, Winona
If you want to know what makes undefeated Winona go, you have to start with the guy under center. Richardson has been instrumental for the Tigers, completing 109 of his 185 pass attempts for 1,774 yards with 21 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He added 853 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground, going over the century mark in half of Winona’s 10 wins.
 

Class 2A
Adarius McDougle, QB, Sebastopol
Unlike the higher classifications, sometimes in Class 2A you get players who can take over a game by themselves. McDougle was one of those guys for Sebastopol this year. In nine regular-season games, he rushed for 1,697 yards and 31 touchdowns and completed half of his 68 pass attempts for 446 yards and five more scores. He’s the main reason the Bobcats averaged 34.9 points a game.
 

Class 1A
Gavin Griffin, RB, Velma Jackson
Sometimes, being the best player on the best team is enough. And Velma Jackson’s star tailback is certainly that. Griffin has paced an explosive offense that helped the Falcons to an undefeated regular season and the top spot in SBLive’s Class 1A rankings, rushing for 1,253 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also caught 15 passes for 300 yards and three more scores. 
 
An awards presentation ceremony will be conducted on Dec. 5 at the MHSAA office in Clinton. 

 

 

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