Mississippi
Mississippi high school football championship score: Heidelberg beats Charleston in 2A for first title
HATTISEBURG — Heidelberg’s Chase Craft did it all.
The sophomore quarterback helped lift Heidelberg to an MHSAA Class 2A state title with a 38-6 win over Charleston on Saturday at M.M Roberts Stadium. The Oilers (14-1) avenged last season’s state title loss to Charleston (12-3) and won their first football title. Saturday was the second state championship appearance for Heidelberg’s program.
Craft ended the afternoon with 323 scrimmage yards and five total touchdowns, going 14-for-21 passing. After a tied 6-6 game going into halftime, Heidelberg scored 32 unanswered second-half points, and its defense held Charleston to 156 yards.
Stream Mississippi HS football games live on NFHS Network
Charleston vs Heidelberg score updates
Final: Heidelberg 38, Charleston 6
Heidelberg 38, Charleston 6: Chase Craft to Ja’kayden Moore
Chase Craft has recorded his fifth touchdown on the day following a 3-yard pass to Ja’kayden Moore with 4:20 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Heidelberg 30, Charleston 6: Chase Craft finds Ja’kayden Moore
Following a fumble by Charleston, Heidelberg’s Chase Craft finds Ja’kayden Moore on a 29-yard pass with 8:15 remaining in the fourth quarter. Heidelberg is successful on the two-point conversion.
Heidelberg 22, Charleston 6: Heidelberg gets safety
Charleston’s snap went over the punter’s head and went behind the end zone for a safety with 11:49 remaining in the fourth quarter. Heidelberg is successful on the two-point conversion.
End of third quarter: Heidelberg 20, Charleston 6
Heidelberg 20, Charleston 6: Chase Craft to Lathaan Gavin
Heidelberg adds its third touchdown of the game from Chase Craft, finding Lathaan Gavin on a 51-yard touchdown pass with 5:02 remaining in the third quarter. Heidelberg is successful on the two-point conversion.
Heidelberg 12, Charleston 6: Chase Craft to Alrekus Graves
Chase Craft finds receiver Alrekus Graves for a 54-yard passing touchdown with 9:50 remaining in the third quarter. Heidelberg failed the two-point conversion.
Halftime: Charleston 6, Heidelberg 6
Charleston 6, Heidelberg 6: Chase Craft rushing score
Quarterback Chase Craft gives Heidelberg its first points of Saturday’s game with a 36-yard rushing touchdown with 7:45 remaining in the second quarter. Heidelberg failed the two-point conversion.
End of first quarter: Charleston 6, Heidelberg 0
Charleston 6, Heidelberg 0: Marcus Flowers, Jr. receiving score
Charleston quarterback Devon Olive found Marcus Flowers, Jr. on a 20-yard pass, and Flowers broke a few tackles to score an 87-yard touchdown with 50 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Charleston failed the two-point conversion.
Charleston vs Heidelberg history
Series: Charleston leads 1-0
Charleston’s last win: 2023 (26-22)
Charleston vs Heidelberg weather in Hattiesburg
According to AccuWeather, it will be 53 degrees around kickoff, and a 0% chance of rain.
MHSAA state championship schedule
Thursday
Class 3A: Choctaw County 34, Noxubee County 27.
Class 7A: Tupelo 28, Brandon 16.
Friday
Class 1A: Baldwyn 21, Simmons 20
Class 5A: West Point vs. Gautier, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Class 2A: Charleston vs. Heidelberg, noon
Class 4A: Louisville vs. Poplarville, 3:30 p.m.
Class 6A: Grenada vs. Hattiesburg, 7 p.m.
MHSAA football playoffs preview, additional reading
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
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Mississippi
The Mississippi State Department of Health first 2025 meeting
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – The Mississippi State Department of Health held its first meeting of 2025 on Wednesday, during which it also announced an achievement.
At the state board meeting, the department discussed scheduled items on the agenda and heard from MSDH State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney.
Edney briefed the state board on current health concerns such as a nationwide increase in cases of pertussis.
Edney also briefed the board on legislative priorities for the upcoming year.
And after an 18-month process, the Mississippi State Department of Health has officially achieved full reaccreditation status.
Edney expressed his gratitude to the MSDH staff and others in attendance.
“The fact that our hard work does not go unrecognized and objectively measured evidence is very important to me,” said Edney.
According to Edney, the reaccreditation status is objective evidence that MSDH is confident in what they do and more than confident that they excel in what they do.
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Mississippi
Parts of Mississippi could see snow, be under freeze warning this week. See where, when
Winter storm to slam Texas before moving through the Southeast
From Jan. 8-11, forecasters say a winter storm is going to impact a huge swath of the U.S., from heavy snow in Texas to wintry weather in the mid-Atlantic.
A winter storm system is set to sweep across the southern U.S. this week and is expected to bring snow and some ice and wintry mix to states along the Gulf coast.
The storm is set to start in Texas on Wednesday night and move toward the eastern seaboard. Parts of the South will get 4 to 8 inches of snow. The National Weather Service expects several inches of snow in the Dallas area, and the weather system will move northeast through the weekend. Nashville and Atlanta also could see hazardous conditions.
The southeast has already been feeling the effects of Arctic air that moved in a few days ago, and the storm is expected to delay travel including affecting road conditions in areas not accustomed to heavy snow and potentially affecting airports.
Parts of Mississippi could see freezing temperatures and some snow, though previous forecasts calling for wintery weather in most of the state have been updated. The latest forecasts look like central and north Mississippi will have the strongest chances for snow, sleet and freezing temperatures.
What will the winter storm bring to Mississippi?
The AccuWeather and National Weather Service forecasts for the Jackson region through Friday have some slight differences. The biggest one is that while AccuWeather calls for a 25% chance of precipitation Thursday and a 99% chance with cold rain on Friday, the NWS says rain and sleet are likely Thursday night with a strong chance of showers on Friday.
Northern areas of the Magnolia State are under a winter storm watch Thursday and Friday. The NWS is predicting rain and snow chances in Greenwood, Oxford and Columbus/West Point/Starkville starting after midnight Thursday night and through Friday evening.
The Hattiesburg forecast now calls for showers Thursday night through Friday night. The overnight low Thursday is 35 degrees. Friday weather has a high of 46 and a low of 31.
The NWS New Orleans office issued a freeze warning Wednesday night for Gulfport. That area is set to get rain Thursday and Friday, but temperatures are expected to stay above freezing.
How should I prepare for extreme cold, winter weather?
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency encourages residents to be ready for winter weather. Extreme cold, snow and ice can lead to power outages and make travel conditions dangerous.
Have non-perishable food and bottled water on hand. (If you have electric appliances, plan meals that can be eaten without using the stove or oven.) Make sure you have enough winter clothing and blankets to stay warm if power goes out. Keep your cellphone charged and have flashlights ready.
Keep an emergency supply kit in vehicles. Be prepared if you have to drive in icy road conditions. (If you hit black ice while driving, take your foot off the pedals and steer into the skid.)
Bring pets inside and make sure animals that can’t be brought in have access to lots of food and water that isn’t frozen.
Check on elderly relatives, friends and neighbors.
7-day Jackson weather forecast
According to AccuWeather, as of Jan. 8, the Jackson area can expect the following for the next week:
- Jan. 8: High 43°F, low 24°F.
- Jan. 9: High 43°F, low 35°F.
- Jan. 10: High 39°F, low 30°F, 99% chance of precipitation with cold rain.
- Jan. 11: High 44°F, low 26°F.
- Jan. 12: High 55°F, low 32°F.
- Jan. 13: High 52°F, low 29°F.
- Jan. 14: High 50°F, low 31°F.
- Jan. 15: High 52°F, low 28°F.
In the National Weather Service forecast, Mississippi is expected to have below-average temperatures and precipitation Jan. 13-17. From Jan. 15-21, temperatures are expected to stay below average while rain changes will be about average.
Mississippi weather radar
January average temperatures in Mississippi
These are the average temperatures for the Jackson, Hattiesburg, Tupelo and Gulfport areas for 2020-24, according to data from the National Weather Service.
Jackson
- 2020: 50.9°F.
- 2021: 48°F.
- 2022: 45.4°F.
- 2023: 53.8°F.
- 2024: 44.5°F.
Hattiesburg
- 2020: 52.6°F.
- 2021: 49.7°F.
- 2022: 47.5°F.
- 2023: 55.8°F.
- 2024: 48.2°F.
Tupelo
- 2020: 48.6°F.
- 2021: 45.1°F.
- 2022: 42°F.
- 2023: 50.6°F.
- 2024: 39.5°F.
Gulfport
- 2020: 55.3°F.
- 2021: 51.7°F.
- 2022: 49.4°F.
- 2023: 58.2°F.
- 2024: 51.2°F.
What are the next winter storm names for 2025?
The Weather Channel names winter storms based on scale. So far the 2024-25 season already has seen Anya and Blair. They do not name “pure arctic cold outbreaks.”
Other planned names are:
- Cora.
- Demi.
- Enzo.
- Freya.
- Garnett.
- Harlow.
- Iliana.
- Jett.
- Kingston.
- Lola.
- Marisol.
- Nyla.
- Omari.
- Pascale.
- Quentin.
- Roman.
- Spencer.
- Theo.
- Usman.
- Vincenzo.
- Wilhelm.
- Xia.
- Ygenny.
- Zahir.
Contributing: Christopher Cann and Doyle Rice
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with Gannett/USA Today. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.
Mississippi
RJ Melendez scores 19 as No. 14 Mississippi State beats Vandy 76-64 for 8th straight win
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — RJ Melendez scored 19 points and No. 14 Mississippi State beat Vanderbilt 76-64 on Tuesday night for its eighth straight victory.
The Bulldogs (14-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) came in with their highest ranking yet under coach Chris Jans. They leave having won six of eight in this series.
Cameron Matthews added 16 points and Claudell Harris Jr. had 13 for Mississippi State.
Vanderbilt (13-2, 1-1) was trying to start 2-0 in league play for the first time since 2016-17. Mississippi State snapped the Commodores’ seven-game win streak under first-year coach Mark Byington.
AJ Hoggard scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half trying to rally Vandy. Grant Huffman added 14 and Tyler Nickel had 10.
Takeaways
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs know how to get inside, dominating with a 42-30 scoring difference in the paint. They also hit their first 12 free throws, finishing 16 of 19 at the line.
Vanderbilt: The Commodores were ice cold for too much of the game. They missed 11 of their final 12 shots to end the first half and made one of their first 11 to start the second. That helped the Bulldogs lead 39-28 at halftime and by as much as 56-34 within the first six minutes of the second.
Key moment
Hoggard’s layup pulled Vanderbilt to 65-60 with 4:19 left, but then the Commodores had another scoring drought. Harris hit a 3-pointer and Matthews dunked with 2:04 left to seal the win.
Key stat
Jason Edwards, Vanderbilt’s leading scorer at 18.3 points per game, went scoreless in 11 minutes. He missed all eight shots, including five inside the arc.
Up next
Mississippi State hosts No. 6 Kentucky on Saturday night.
Vanderbilt goes to Missouri on Saturday before returning for two home games.
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