HSFT Stop #31: Shannon

SHANNON, Miss. (WCBI) — Shannon football has a new face at the helm of the program, but he’s far from a new face in the community. First-year head coach Ken Topps was the Red Raiders’ star quarterback from 1999-2001.

“It’s been a great blessing coming back after 21 years,” Topps said.

Topps knows a thing or two about success at Shannon. He led the 1999 team to the state championship game and won division every year he was with the Red Raiders.

He knows restoring Shannon back to its glory days will be a challenge, but it’s one he said he’s up for. That’s why Topps has recruited other former Red Raiders from their successful years to serve on his coaching staff.

“They played here at Shannon years ago and they were great. They won state championships. Won divisions. They’ve been feeding into us, so we got no choice but to be great,” senior Michael Chalmers said.

The Red Raiders haven’t made it past the first round of the playoffs since 2010. But this group is ready to play up to the expectations of Shannon football.

They’ll be led by quarterback Trey Spurgon who has gotten to learn from Topps about being a Shannon quarterback.

“He’s teaching me the ropes,” Spurgon said.