Mississippi

Vote for the Mississippi top offensive football player entering the 2024 MHSAA, MAIS season

Published

2 years ago

August 21, 2024

Vote for the Mississippi top offensive football player entering the 2024 MHSAA, MAIS season

Week 1 of the 2024 MHSAA high school football season is approaching, and MAIS is entering its second week of games. In anticipation of this year, fans have voted on their best returning high school player at each position in Mississippi this season.

This week, you can choose your top offensive player in the state.

Vote for your choice of Mississippi’s top offensive player among 20 players. Vote now before the poll closes at 10 a.m. on Monday. Fans may vote in the poll below one time per hour per device. You can do the same for the top defensive player poll here.

Here are the 20 players in consideration:

Kendetryon Backstrom, Kemper County: Backstrom threw for 2,071 passing yards with 15 touchdowns on 11 completions. He also had 1,248 rushing yards with 14 touchdowns.

Jermarj Bell, Northside: The Central Arkansas commit had 1,775 all-purpose yards with 981 receiving yards on 56 receptions, 14 total touchdowns and two punt returns for scores.

Jeremiah Cole, Magee: Cole had 46 receptions with 1,012 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns last season, including 210 kick return yards.

Moses Cummings, Purvis: Cummings had 1,755 rushing yards with 20 touchdowns on 244 carries last season. He produced 100 yards or more rushing yards in none out 10 games played.

Caleb Cunningham, Choctaw County: The Alabama commit is the No. 1 prospect in Mississippi and the No. 2 wide receiver in the country. Last season, he set Choctaw’s season records for receptions with 48 and yards receiving with 1,138 and scored 14 touchdowns.

Akylin Dear, Quitman: Dear, the Alabama commit is the No. 3 prospect in the state and the No. 2 running back in the country.

Micah Jones, Madison Central: Jones, a Florida commit, is the No. 15 prospect in Mississippi and the No. 28 tight end nationally for the Class of 2025. Last season, Jones recorded 168 receiving yards with a touchdown and helped Madison Central go 8-5.

Tray Kinkle, Holly Springs: Kinkle, a three-star recruit, had 1,247 rushing yards with 12 touchdowns and 26 receptions for 452 yards with four touchdowns. Kinkle holds offers from Ole Miss, Florida State, Auburn and Florida.

TOP RETURNERS BY POSITION: QBs | RBs | WRs | OLs | ATH | DBs | LBs | DLs | K/P

Deuce Knight, George County: Knight, a Notre Dame commit, is the highest-rated quarterback in Mississippi’s 2025 class and No. 6 overall in the country. He passed for 1,420 yards with 15 touchdowns in seven games last season.

Anson Lewis, Oak Grove: Lewis is a four-star wideout and his offers include Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Missouri. Lewis has transferred to Oak Grove after spending the past two seasons at Columbia.

Xavier McDonald, Morton: McDonald, a four-star recruit and the No. 2 overall prospect in the state, had 56 receptions for 1,166 yards with 16 touchdowns. McDonald has offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Florida State, Auburn and UCF.

Quincy Phillips Jr., Brandon: Phillips had 87 receptions for 1,027 yards with six touchdowns in 2023. His receptions broke the school’s season record held by NFL player Jonathan Mingo.

Royale Shelvy, Jefferson County: In 2023, Shelvy produced 1,098 receiving yards with 66 completions, 404 rushing yards with 47 carries, 17 total tackles, one interception and 20 total touchdowns.

Darrell Smith, Picayune: Smith had 1,087 rushing yards with 124 carries and 15 touchdowns, 194 receiving yards with three touchdowns and 14 tackles last season.

KaMario Taylor, Noxubee County: Taylor, a Mississippi State commit and the No. 11 recruit in the state, helped lead Noxubee County to the MHSAA 3A state title game. He threw for 3,282 yards with 45 touchdowns and rushed for 789 yards with 15 touchdowns.

Macaleb Taylor, Grenada: Taylor produced 1,825 rushing yards with 326 carries and 21 touchdowns while also having 204 receiving yards for five for five touchdowns.

Kenzy West, Hartfield Academy: West, a three-star recruit, helped lead Hartfield to a MAIS Class 6A state championship while recording 915 receiving yards with 12 touchdowns and 1,368 return yards. West also had 22 tackles with four interceptions.

George Wilcox, Leake Academy: The sophomore was second in MAIS in passing yards with 3,098 on 199 completions with 29 touchdowns, averaging 281 passing yards per game.

Gavin Wooley, Falkner: Wooley threw for 2,350 yards with 28 touchdowns on 131 completions. He also rushed for 457 yards with five touchdowns.

Case Thomas, Madison-Ridgeland Academy: Last season, Thomas produced 59 catches for 1,296 yards, which led MAIS, and recorded 17 touchdowns.

Michael Chavez covers high school sports, among others, for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.

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Mississippi

Stamps Super Burgers named best burger in Mississippi

Published

5 hours ago

April 6, 2026

Press Room

Stamps Super Burgers named best burger in Mississippi

A Jackson, Mississippi, icon has been named the best burger in Mississippi.

Foodie offers tips for “living a delicious life” from where you go out to eat to what you cook at home. It’s ranked the best hamburger restaurant in every state.

“Of course, the bigger burger chain names have become famous worldwide, but U.S. soil is also home to a dazzling variety of burger businesses, from those selling everything from high-end gastroburgers and gluten- or meat-free versions, to hole-in-the-wall places that have been slinging sliders for generations,” Scheenagh Harrington wrote for Foodie.

The site’s pick for the best in the Magnolia State is not surprising.

“Many businesses claim their product is the best in town, but Jackson-based Stamps Super Burgers really does deliver,” Harrington wrote.

They warned to plan your trip. Afternoons can get very busy.

Why do people love Stamps burgers?

Stamps Super Burgers, 1801 Dalton St., Jackson, was founded in 1986. Since then, three generations of the Stamps family have served juicy burgers and fresh-cut fries to the community.

Today, it’s co-owned by Phil Stamps Jr. In a previous interview with the Clarion Ledger, he said it “originally started with my grandmother and grandfather in 1970 when they purchased it from Canterbury Grocery, and the entire family operated that business as a grocery and meat market for a while before transitioning over to burgers in 1986.”

The kitchen is open, in the center of the restaurant. You can watch employees cut potatoes for fries or man the grill.

A signature Stamps hamburger comes with an 11-ounce beef patty and mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, pickle and onions. The menu also has wings and different burger options, like turkey or portobello.

The Washington Addition restaurant regularly tops “best of” rankings for the state. In 2024, it was on the USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year list.

Where are the best burgers in Jackson, MS?

Yelp lists the Top 10 burger joints in Jackson, based on user reviews.

Stamps Super Burgers
Foundation Burger
Fat Albert’s
Cs’s
Rooster’s Restaurant
Rowan’s
Bulldog Burger
The Pig & Pint
Brent’s Drugs
Not Just a Burger

Contributing: Kiara Fleming

Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with USA TODAY NETWORK. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.

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Mississippi

An 1850s Parsonage in Natchez, Mississippi, Is Selling for the First Time in Over a Century

Published

18 hours ago

April 5, 2026

Press Room

An 1850s Parsonage in Natchez, Mississippi, Is Selling for the First Time in Over a Century

A 174-year-old brick parsonage house on a bluff above the Mississippi River is now for sale in Natchez, Mississippi, asking $1.985 million.

The home, completed in 1852, was built by architect James Hardie as a residence for Methodist ministers, according to historical records. The land was donated by Peter Little, a wealthy cotton broker and slave owner who built the city’s historic Rosalie mansion.

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The house was initially built as a one-story residence with an “English” basement and a carriage house; a two-story annex was added later, according to the listing with Douglas Adams of Crescent Sotheby’s International Realty, informed by the Historic Natchez Foundation.

“The location is what is superb because it is one of the highest points in Natchez overlooking the Mississippi River,” said Adams, who posted the listing Thursday.

In 1893, the Parsonage changed hands for the last time when it was purchased by James and Agnes Metcalfe, and has been in the Metcalfe family ever since.

Known as the Parsonage, the residence is considered a classic example of Greek Revival architecture from the pre-Civil War South, with a wide portico, raised porch and sash windows. It is located on South Broadway Street, in a commanding position that overlooks Bluff Park, the Mississippi and downtown Natchez. It spans 6,500 square feet with five bedrooms, two formal parlors flanking a central hall and richly detailed interiors that include original exposed-brick walls, fireplaces and stained-glass windows.

In addition to a front porch, the property includes several outdoor terraces and balconies, including a second-floor wraparound deck and a balustraded rooftop—which has the best vantage point from which to see the wide views.

The home was occupied for many years by the late Albert and Gay Metcalfe, who married at the Parsonage in 1959, and would host events for friends. “It became something of a social hub,” Adams said. “They’d host families to celebrate someone’s life; there may have been some weddings that occurred there.”

Gay Metcalfe died in 2023 and the heirs are her three children, Adams said. The family couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Hardie, the architect, was a Scottish immigrant who built several other notable buildings in Natchez, including most prominently St. Mary Basilica, a Gothic Revival structure on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Homewood plantation, a Greek Revival mansion.

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According to local lore, the Parsonage was commissioned by Little because his wife, Eliza’s religious devotion led her to welcome every passing minister into their home, according to “Natchez,” a 1940s history of the city. Displeased with the “long siege of such guests,” Little decided to build a separate home for his wife’s visitors.

Little’s own mansion at Rosalie still stands today near the site of the 1729 massacre of the Natchez Native Americans, from whom the city takes its name.

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