School Spotlight: Picayune High School (Picayune, MS)

Our newest school spotlight covers the Picayune Maroon Tide out of Picayune, Mississippi. The Maroon Tide are currently on a 26 game win streak and have won the last two 5A State Championships. They have won 4 State Title Games since 2010 under Head Coach Cody Stogner and previous Head Coach Dodd Lee. The state of the program is high at the moment and the team is looking for more success next season with lots of returning players.

Coach Stogner started out playing high school ball under former Head Coach Dodd Lee at Picayune before moving on to play D1 College Football at Nicholls State. Once his playing days were over he wanted to stay within football and knew the only way to do so was to coach. Stogner had an opportunity to come back and coach at Picayune under Coach Lee, he did so for 13 years as an assistant before Lee retired. The next man up was Coach Stogner who has had tremendous success since taking over the program in 2020.

What are you trying to get out of your players other than wins on the football field?

“We try to instill that as young adults and players they need to try and focus on what they control. Their effort, intensity, and alertness are all things under their control and those things translate not only on the field, in the classroom, but with life in general. We want max effort and an attempt to be perfect. That will create results, which has shown in the classroom as our team GPA is up there with the best we have had in years.”

Offensively, the Maroon Tide are a run first team. Most sets are going to be under center and will have a wingback, full back, and tail back. They are going to get downhill and want to control the clock ultimately controlling the entire game. Defensively, it is going to be a base defense that just wants to be in the right spots, it is all about alignment and timing along with a good attitude on defense.

A notable individual to look out for is class of 2024 RB Chris Davis who had over 1000 rushing yards last season and accounted for 15 total touchdowns. Chris is 6’0 180 LBS and also plays baseball during the spring for the Maroon Tide. Chris has multiple division 1 offers including Penn State, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Arkansas.

Another 2024 player who is going to turn heads next season is Edge Rusher Jamonta Waller. Waller had 11.5 sacks last season and 24 tackles for loss. Waller boasts a 3.2 GPA and stands at 6’2 225 LBS. Waller has multiple D1 Offers, some of those include LSU, Florida, Tennessee, and Alabama.

Jamonta Waller (courtesy of On3)

A defensive stud who is poised for another great season is class of 2024 MLB Amarion Tyson. Amarion is 5’6 170 LBS and has led the state in tackles for the past two seasons as the Maroon Tide’s Inside Linebacker. Amarion had an outstanding 162 tackles last season with 19.5 tackles for loss.

Amarion warming up in the end zone