On a brisk morning January 7th 2009 I rolled up to Meridian High School, in the heart of Meridian, Mississippi. I was immediately introduced to the Head Football Coach, Larry Weems who walked me down to where the Pep Rally was going to be held in the Gymnasium. On our walk, we passed the team’s football field on the right. It was the size of a college stadium and held up to 15,000 fans. I can only imagine the noise this stadium was making during the playoffs. After a tremendous season as well as the hard work and preparation in the off-season by both coach’s and players, Meridian defeated South Panola of Batesville, 26-20, in overtime to finish the season at 14-1 and capture the Mississippi 5A state championship. Meridian is one of 30 high schools nationwide being honored on the fourth season of the MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard.
As we reached the gymnasium, we were greeted by Sergeant First Class Phillip Mosely and Nick Reasons from MaxPreps. At around 9:30am the students came piling into the enormous gym, to fill up every seat on both sides of the bleachers. As Principal Woods took the microphone, she addressed the audience with praises for the boys and their hard work both on the field and in the classroom. Principal Woods then introduced Nick Reasons from MaxPreps. Nick spoke of the team’s success on the field, their incredible statistics as well as their National Ranking amongst the 15,000 other high school football teams throughout the country. He then went on to introduce SFC Mosely who was extremely enthusiastic about the young men’s efforts on the field this year. SFC Mosely also explained the talents off the field like, dedication, hard work, and loyalty to their teammates, coach’s, and school. He then went on to award Coach Weems with The MaxPreps Tour of Champions National Ranking Trophy. Coach Weems called down the team, who were all dressed in their commemorative Tour of Champions t-shirts. The student’s faculty, media and local supporters in the crowd were all on their feet! The band began to play and the boys all gathered together with Coach Weems and SFC Mosely. The proud players rose up their pointer fingers, and took the final photo with the trophy they worked so hard to achieve. The event was truly remarkable. Hopefully, we will be back in Meridian next year. Go Wildcats!