Congratulations to both the Charleston High School Tigers and the West Tallahatchie High School Choctaws for their outstanding seasons on the gridiron this year.
For a third straight campaign, the Tigers clawed their way to the Mississippi High School Activities Association’s Class 2A state championship game.
This year, the Tigers were unable to repeat their championship form of 2023, but CHS is to be lauded for making it to a third consecutive finals.
After putting together an 8-2 regular season and earning the Region 3-2A championship, the Tigers handily dispensed with four state playoff opponents en route to claiming the Class 2A North State title and finishing with an overall record of 12-3.
Being one of the last two teams standing in Class 2A, which this year includes 38 schools around the state, speaks for itself.
The Choctaws recorded their fifth straight season of state playoff appearances and won a postseason home game convincingly before falling in a second-round contest on the road.
West Tally also put together their first seven-win regular season in seven years and finished with an 8-3 record — their greatest total of overall victories in varsity football since 2016.
Head coaches LaDon Taylor at Charleston and Shane Hargett at West Tallahatchie would say that their assistant coaches and players deserve the lion’s share of praise for their successful seasons. It is true, assistant coaches do not get enough credit.
The student-athletes certainly do a lot of heavy lifting — literally. Between strength and conditioning exercises in the weight room and beyond, plus the many hours that they devote to practice throughout the year, it takes a lot of dedication, and grueling mental and physical effort.
The same could be said for student-athletes in other school-sponsored sports, too. All of them deserve recognition and appreciation.
Tallahatchie County schools have been blessed over the years with an abundance of gifted and talented students and student-athletes.
From National Spelling Bee winners; to pioneers and leaders in business and industry; to highly-acclaimed college, university and professional athletes; to some of the longest-serving and esteemed local, state and national statesmen; to world-renowned musicians and singers; to recipients of prestigious art awards in New York City, to name just a few achievements that come immediately to mind, Tallahatchie County schools have produced many people of note and distinction.
The student-athletes who entertain us and bring recognition to our communities rank high, too.
