#HSFT21 Stop #17 — Booneville Blue Devils
| CLASS 3A | REGION 1 |
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| HEAD COACH: Mike Mattox |
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| Aug 27 | Mooreville | Home |
| Sept 3 | Baldwyn | Away |
| Sept 10 | East Union | Home |
| Sept 17 | New Albany | Home |
| Sept 24 | Ripley | Away |
| Oct 1 | Kossuth | Away |
| Oct 8 | Bruce | Away |
| Oct 15 | Alcorn Central | Home |
| Oct 22 | Water Valley | Away |
| Oct 29 | Mantachie | Home |
BOONEVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) –– The Booneville Blue Devils are getting ready to rebuild and reset.
“We have a lot of kids who have played a lot of football, so that will be a plus,” Booneville head coach Mike Mattox said.
Following a 6-3 season in 2020, the Blue Devils lost 17 seniors and former three-year starting quarterback John Daniel Deaton.
Like any good coach, Mattox knows he can’t replace a player like Deaton, who totaled 1,600 yards for the Blue Devils 2020 season. Instead, Mattox and his team are refocusing on finding a new identity for his offense.
“You just kind of have to have somebody step up and take their place the best they can. So right now, we’re searching. We’ve had a few younger kids come and try to get ready to play.”
While the Blue Devils continue to work for their identity offensively, Booneville plans to rely a lot on the team’s defense this season.
“Until we get some kids to settle in offensively and kind of figure out exactly our identity on offense. Right now, we’ve got a lot of kids that played a lot of football defensively last year so that should be our strength early,” Mattox said.
“We’ve got a returning linebacker in James Dexter and he’s going to be a good one for us. That’s where our strength is at,” senior OL/DL Gage Harrelson said.
“We’ve got a lot of skill players than can really slam on the line,” senior ATH Tavarious Brown said. “We’re going to fight through.”
A new season naturally comes along with some changes. A few new teams join 3A-Region 1, such as Water Valley. However, Coach Mattox is always preparing for the challenge the division presents year in and year out.
“We just have five teams in our division this team. The hardest thing is we have to go to Water Valley, which will be tough, and then you’ve got Kossuth. They’re always after us. It’s a big rivalry game now. All the teams in our division make it a tough little division top to bottom,” coach Mattox said.
The season begins for Booneville at home against Mooreville on August 27th.
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