Fifth-year Charleston High School head football coach LaDon Taylor said he has not had much time to process his team's 22-14 win over Northside in last week's Class 2A North State championship game. It was the third north half crown of his head coaching career.
"I'm happy and proud of the kids, [but] I’ve been kind of locked in on trying to figure out how to get one more game under our belt,” he said Tuesday, adding, “It is truly a blessing to be in this position.”
The win punched the Tigers’ ticket to the program’s ninth state championship game appearance, set for Saturday at M.M. Roberts Stadium on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. Kickoff is scheduled for 12.
The 12-2 Tigers will face the 13-1 Heidelberg Oilers in a rematch of the 2023 state title game, which Charleston won 26-22 for the program’s second-ever football state championship. They had won previously in 2011 under then head coach Tony Vance.
The Tigers will be making their third state title game trip in as many years, matching the program’s previous longest stretch of appearances in the big one, from 2014-2016.
Charleston lost all three of those bouts by a combined total of 14 points.
A CHS win on Saturday gives the Tigers their first back-to-back state titles in football.
Taylor said the Tigers have to be very disciplined Saturday to be able to repeat their finals game success of a year ago.
“They have some explosive players,” the coach noted of Heidelberg, mentioning 6-0, 180-pound sophomore quarterback Chase Craft.
Craft has passed for 1,829 yards and 21 touchdowns, rushed for 1,161 yards and 16 touchdowns, and scored on a pick six and a kickoff return.
“In addition to Craft, who is their top player and a very explosive player, they have a few more guys that can take it the distance, as well,” Taylor said. “So we have to be very sound defensively in our gaps, in our coverages, and also the same thing on the offensive side — blocking who we are supposed to block and blocking long enough to give our backs an opportunity.”
Charleston likewise possesses quick-strike capabilities and a stable of heavy-hitting performers.
Junior quarterback Devon Olive has passed for 1,537 yards and 18 touchdowns, and junior running back Marcus “Deuce” Flowers has run for 1,618 yards and 30 TDs and also has three pass receptions for scores.
Heidelberg has won 11 games in a row while CHS has strung together nine straight victories.
The Tigers have scored 510 points while allowing 213.
The Oilers have scored 660 points while allowing only 69.
Asked if Charleston plans to add any new wrinkles to their game plan, Taylor said his team will largely stay the course, especially offensively.
“What we have done has been good enough to get us to this point, so why deviate too much from that?” he asked. “Obviously, there are some small things that we think we may be able to do differently, but we also pride ourselves on making sure that the kids can play full speed and not think. ... We just want to make sure that they are confident and comfortable about what we are doing, and carry those plans out just like they’ve done the first 14 games.”
As in 2023, per Taylor’s preference there will be no community pep rally to see the team off Friday, he noted.
“I’m not big on hype and hoopla. I like to stay focused and locked in,” he said. “I believe the less distractions, the better, for me and the kids. It worked out last year.”
Since he became head coach in 2020, Taylor's teams have an overall record of 45-12, a winning mark of 78.95%. (No football was played in 2020 due to the pandemic.)
The Tigers will travel down to Hattiesburg on Friday, Taylor noted, with plans to attend the 4 p.m. Class 1A state championship game pitting 13-0 Hollandale Simmons against 13-1 Baldwyn.
Afterward, he said, "We will try to get a good night's rest and be ready to get up Saturday morning and take care of business."
Taylor was asked about Saturday night's Class 6A title game pitting the 14-1 Grenada High School Chargers against the 13-0 Hattiesburg High School Tigers.
A couple of former Charleston head coaches will be on opposing sidelines for the 7 p.m. kickoff.
Vance, a native of Tippo, is the Hattiesburg head coach, and his Hattiesburg Tigers are quarterbacked by his all-star son, Deuce.
Former CHS head coach Scott Martin is an assistant coach on Grenada's staff. He led Charleston to state title matches in 2014, 2015 and 2016, losing those games by 8, 2 and 4 points, respectively.
Both Taylor and Martin were assistants on Vance's Charleston staff in 2011. When Vance left CHS for the bigger opportunity in Hattiesburg after the 2012 season, Martin was promoted to head coach and Taylor remained an assistant on the staff. When Martin left in 2020, Taylor was named to succeed him.
"I'm excited for my friend, Tony Vance, as well as for Coach Martin getting back there, but especially for Coach Vance," Taylor said Tuesday. "That [championship] game is happening in the city that he coaches in. His son being the senior and starting quarterback, I'm really happy for Coach Vance and I hope that Saturday night, he will be holding that gold ball."
The general admission ticket that Charleston fans purchase is good for the entire day as long as the ticket holder does not leave the stadium. Exit and re-entry is not allowed. Anyone attending the Charleston game could stick around for the 3:30 kickoff of the Class 4A title match between Louisville and Poplarville, and then hang around for the nightcap between Grenada and Hattiesburg.
