The Simpson County Super Bowl will celebrate 100 years of rivalry, tradition, and community this Friday night.
The battles between the Magee Trojans and Mendenhall Tigers on the gridiron are legendary and epitomize what high school football means in Mississippi. It is one of the oldest rivalries in the state.
The passion of fans on both sides is what makes the competition pure. Generations of players have been influenced by stories from past games to go out and leave their mark on the Simpson County Super Bowl creating new memories to be passed down.
We were able to speak to former players across multiple generations and details from every game were filled with enough drama and heroics for the big screen. When players were amid the rivalry and preparing for the games, they were fueled by competition but as they reminisced on games past, regardless of the outcome most spoke with a tone of reverence and respect for their opponents. They respected the preparation, the competition, and the challenge that helped them elevate their game as football players.
Tiger Head Coach Chuckie Allen had the unique opportunity of experiencing the Simpson County Super Bowl as a player for the Magee Trojans and now as a coach for the Mendenhall Tigers. Allen shared a memory from his senior year as a Trojan.
Allen said, “My favorite memory would be the 1989-1990 season, my senior year. I was at Magee coming into the last ball game. It was Magee vs Mendenhall week. Coming into that ball game Mendenhall was 8-1 and we were 9-0. Mendenhall was coming off winning three years in a row, and I’m coming off never beating Mendenhall my 7th through 11th grade years.”
He continued, “I always feel like I lost the game my junior year because Chris Berry walked me down on a touchdown and the next play we fumbled the ball, and a couple of plays later mark Johnson went and scored. They beat us 14-3 that night. We could have went up 10 to nothing.”
Allen said, “My senior year up here in Mendenhall we go to overtime. I score a touchdown in regulation and we go to overtime. You talk about being in the right place at the right time! Our starting quarterback Karell (Dampeer) got dinged up pretty good. Randy Pace, who started the season at quarterback but broke his hand, came in and coach called a pass to Kris Mangum.”
Allen laughed, “I got kind of upset that he was throwing to him but it was ok because we had another play. We ran it and Randy threw it to Kris, and he dove at it. He couldn’t quite get to it, but the ball hit him and bounced up. I ran the wrong route not doing what I was supposed to do. But running the wrong route took me in the vicinity of the ball. It came down and I happened to catch it and we beat them.”
The play won the Trojans the game and the district championship. The Trojans faced the Tigers a second time that year for the South State Championship and defeated them again. Allen said as a player that was his favorite moment.
“Now as a coach,” he added, “I would have to say the 2018-2019 year, my son Christian’s senior yea,r and we went in at halftime tied up 18 to 18 and I didn’t think it should have been close. We weren’t playing Mendenhall Football. That was one of the rare times I lost it at halftime. We came out the second half and probably scored 30 points in about 5 minutes. Christian ended up with four touchdowns, and just to see my son get a chance to make a name for himself in this rivalry was a proud father moment and coaching moment.”
Magee Head Coach Chase Courtney spoke of his favorite Simpson County Super Bowl moment.
Courtney said, “This sounds weird, but my favorite moment is coaching in it and carrying the players up 49 with a police escort and for a moment they shut down the highway so the buses can get through. You know right then in that moment how important it is when they shut down Highway 49. You get parked and fans are lined up beside you and they are screaming at you, and I love it. They’re talking crazy stuff to you, and I channel it in and I absolutely love it. So, I’m expecting nothing less, but that is my favorite moment about that game, playing at Mendenhall and getting to experience that. I feed off that.”
Tiger running back Reggie McLaurin Sr., Class of 1998, shared his favorite memory of the Simpson County Super Bowl.
He said, “My favorite Super Bowl memory was in 1997 and we played them Trojans at about 7:15. On kickoff I got the ball and ran over Terri Logan. I brought it right to him and let him know that I wasn’t scared of no Trojans or nothing. We went into overtime with that game, and that was my best memory.”
Marcus Floyd, owner of Pop’s Discount Store in Mendenhall, shared his memory as a Trojan in 1996. “We went to Mendenhall in 1996 and did what us Trojans do,” he said. “I was middle linebacker out there with the Fab 5 and the Logan twins. We did what we needed to do.”
Chancery Clerk Tim Gray won a state championship as a member of the Mendenhall Tigers and shared fond memories of the Simpson County Super Bowl and his championship season.
Gray said, “I was one of those guys that was fortunate to be a part of a really good team. I considered myself a boy among men. That year we had an offensive line that was larger in weight than Ole Miss’s offensive line. We averaged over 300lbs on the line. Of course I was a small guy at about 200 pounds. It was a really good team, and I remember going into the game with Magee that year. There was about 11,000 people at that game. It was played at Mendenhall and both endzones were totally full of people.”
Gray said, “It was hard fought game. The coach down there was coach David Bradley and he had put together a really good team and it was a fight from the kickoff on. We did come out on top in that game and won 14 to nothing. It could have went any way many times throughout the game. Most people who have been to the Mendenhall vs Magee game know it’s a fight and its not over until it’s over.”
When asked about any memorable plays Gray laughed and said, “For me the one that sticks out the most was when I was the long snapper and I snapped the punt high. So yeah, that one sticks out pretty well.”
He said, “Magee had a receiver, Aimee Green, and he was open quite a bit throughout the night and it scared me every time they went back to pass. That Magee team had a lot of talent. I think Bo Davis was on that team, Steve Williamson was on the team. They had some really good talent.”
After winning that game the Tigers went on to win the State Championship.
Gray said, “We had a lot of good coaches and talent. A lot of strength, speed, and football knowledge, and I was blessed to have been a part of it. All the things I’ve been through in my life, I have probably built the biggest bond with that group of guys. Those guys are my brothers for the rest of my life.”
Magee Mayor Dale Berry played at Magee in 1975 and coached at Magee for four years and Mendenhall for three years.
He said, “My senior year Mendenhall beat us 10 to 7. They kicked a field goal on the last play of the game. The game started and we went down and scored, and then in the second quarter our starting quarterback broke his leg. We actually had to go with our third team quarterback. They scored late and then drove the length of the field for a field goal at the end. It was 7-7. I had intercepted a pass, and I was gone for a touchdown, but one guy tripped me up and made a shoestring tackle. If I would have scored, we would have won the game.”
Berry spoke of coaching for Magee and said, “We warmed up at Magee and got dressed and rode the bus up there to Mendenhall about 10 minutes before game time. We got off the bus ready to go and the first play of the game we broke for about 70 yards. The game ended up 0 to 0 and went into triple overtime. They ended up beating us 20 to 17. We kicked a field goal and they scored in the third overtime. They actually made a play up in the huddle that they had never ran before and it worked.”
Coaching for both sides, Mayor Berry shared stories about players such as Michael Warren and Terry Holloway for Magee and Mark Johnson for Mendenhall.
Berry said, “Back in the day only one team made it out of district, and it was usually winner take all between Magee and Mendenhall. Now they are in different classifications, and that’s why they have to play so early.”
Dr. Scottye Holloway with Mendenhall Ministries graduated from Magee in 1979. Dr. Holloway was an exceptional football player who went on to play for the University of Southern Mississippi.
Dr. Holloway said, “One thing I am very proud of is being a Trojan having graduated from Magee in 1979. I remember most is my senior year we played Mendenhall. The week before, our leading running back broke his arm, and we were wondering who was going to fill in for him, and how that game was going to go. We didn’t have necessarily a great second team player. What happened was Bruce Langston came in and Bruce was very confident and he thought that he would do well. He stated that he had a dream the night before the game and that he scored three touchdowns. We played that game that night and we were the last team to win the Little Dixie Championship, and he did score three touchdowns. For us he was our most valuable player.”
He said, “One of the things that I think is good for us to remember is all of us have the possibilities or potential of coming in and doing a great job when we’re called upon if we are prepared.”
These were only a few of the many stories surrounding the Simpson County Super Bowl. We will continue to reach out to others and gather more memories as long as the game is played.
Feel free to share your memories with us on our Facebook page or email them to mjones@mageecourier.ms
