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.
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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
Mississippi lawmakers face pressure to counter looming federal cuts to health care after punting this session
Wicker: Mississippi powered Artemis II
Published 4:00 pm Monday, April 20, 2026
For nine days this month, space travel captivated the world. Families gathered around their screens as four astronauts strapped into the Integrity spacecraft docked at the Kennedy Space Center. As the launch countdown ended, four Mississippi-tested RS-45 engines ignited, and the ground shook. Seven seconds later, the Integrity had liftoff. For six intense minutes, the RS-45 engines rocketed the crew into high Earth orbit, sending them on their historic lunar flyby mission.
Mississippi should take a bow. The four RS-45 engines were tested at our very own Stennis Space Center, where Mississippians have been ensuring the quality of rocket engines since the Apollo program. For eight years, engineers, safety managers, and logistics specialists from the state have tested the engines that powered the Integrity and will power future Artemis launches. Their work paid off, and the launch was a marvel of engineering. NASA leadership made special mention of the rocket engine burn, calling it “flawless.”
One Mississippian in particular helped make the mission a success. Hernando native Matthew Ramsey handled a great deal of responsibility as the mission manager for Artemis II. The Mississippi State University graduate helped set the focus for the mission and equip the astronauts and staff for the job. Matthew also served as the deputy of the Mission Management Team, the group of NASA staff that comes together just days before a launch. The team assumes the risks of the mission ahead, and they make tough calls during flight if challenges arise.
As the Artemis II journey progressed, the world could not stop watching. Our social media feeds were full of photos and videos beamed down from the heavens. They captured humorous situations, such as the astronauts adjusting to life without gravity or testing their plumbing skills.
We also witnessed moments of majesty. On the fifth day, the Integrity began using the Moon’s gravity to slingshot our astronauts back home. That trajectory led the crew around the Moon, farther from Earth than any humans have ever gone. As the explorers looked upon outer space, they captured stunning images. Among the most remarkable is Earthset, in which Commander Reid Wiseman photographed Earth as it appeared to fall below the horizon of the moon.
When their spacecraft returned to Earth’s atmosphere, the crew was traveling nearly 35 times faster than the speed of sound. Ten minutes later, a series of parachutes began opening. Eventually, the spacecraft’s speed fell to 20 miles per hour, and the crew splashed down into the Pacific Ocean.
Mississippi was once again there to assist. The astronauts were greeted by the USS John P. Murtha, a U.S. military vessel built in the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula. The ship’s amphibious design was suited to welcome the space travelers home—equipped with a helicopter pad, medical facilities, and the communications system needed to locate and recover the astronauts safely. Crucially, the USS Murtha was built with a well deck, a sea-based garage that stored the Integrity on the journey to shore.
Artemis II was a resounding success, paving the way for planned future flights. When the Artemis program returns humans to the moon, Mississippi will be there every step of the way.
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