Kossuth football wins division title, advances in state playoffs ... Pages

Kossuth quarterback Jack Johnson throws the ball downfield in the state playoff game against Amory on Nov. 19, 2021.

Photo by Randy J. Williams

Aggie football shines proudly in 2021

By TANNER MARLAR

For Crossroads Magazine

At the start of the 2021 football season, there were a lot of question marks surrounding the Kossuth Aggie football team.

Head coach Brian Kelly had retained a lot of starters in the trenches, which was a much needed constant, but had lost almost all of their offensive production to graduation from the year before. Those skill players included Brock Seago, the former two-year starting quarterback.

Enter McNairy Central, Tenn., transfer quarterback Jack Johnson, a former starter for the Bobcats. Johnson stepped in and led the team to another division championship, continuing the Aggie tradition of division dominance under the lights.

Kelly spoke highly of his quarterback and his leadership abilities both on and off the gridiron.

“You can tell he’s a leader. He leads on and off the field. He’s a competitor,” said Kelly. “Early in the season he was trying to learn the offense and maybe do too much. (We) scaled everything back a little bit, got into division play, and in those big games with Booneville and Water Valley, he shined, and in the Nettleton game, he shined.”

Kossuth wins division title, advances in state playoffs

Brady Kelly fights for a first down in the Aggie playoff game against Amory.

Photo by Randy J. Williams

Those shining moments didn’t go unnoticed, as Johnson grew into the role of the main signal caller, even checking plays and making reads in the heat of play.

“Your quarterback has to be a leader. He’s got to be somebody you can trust and count on. He checks some plays at the line of scrimmage. It’s good to have somebody back there with that experience, and I’m glad we’re getting him back next year as well.”

Johnson, along with a host of other Aggies, led the team to a final record of 10-3 until a close playoff loss against Amory forced the season to come to a dramatic closure.

Jack Johnson had a special year for the Aggies – earning Offensive Player of the Year of the division – and even though the offense could score with the best of them at times, according to Kelly, the defense was the true anchor point of this team.

The Aggie defense allowed an average of nine points per contest in their divisional games, only allowing 14 in the game that ultimately cost them their season, and any time a team can hold their opponents to numbers like that, they’ll be in a position to win games, according to Kelly.

Plenty of teams in MHSAA 3A football end up having to use players on both sides of the ball, and the Aggies are no different. Johnson routinely made the swap from quarterback to defensive back during the 2021 season, but he had plenty of help.

“We had a leader at each level (of the defense),” said Kelly, “Trace Wegman on the first level on the defensive line – he was the division 1-3A MVP. He led the team in tackles, and when your defensive lineman is leading the team in tackles that’s a good thing. He had a three-year starter sitting right behind him in Ethan Tucker at linebacker, then on the third level you had Jack Johnson playing safety.”

It wasn’t just the team leaders that put in work on the defensive side of the ball for the Aggies, either. According to Kelly, it was a host of role players who really made this 2021 defense what it was.

“Everybody was a role player. Braxton Tucker, Evan Patton and Tate Rogers, they played great all year. It’s competitive. Everybody was competing.”

The most exciting thing about this year’s defense, though? They’ll return almost all of their starters, with weak side defensive end Wes Phillips and linebacker Tate Rogers being the only seniors.

With most of their production returning, the KHS football team and staff as a whole are excited for what the future might bring. They all know the opportunity that will present itself from returning a high percentage of a top-15 MHSAA 3A roster, and nobody knows that more than the players.

“The kids are working hard now. They know how close they are,” Kelly said, “Kossuth has never been past the third round. They’ve never played for the north state ... there’s a lot of good teams in the 3A north, but you’ve got to beat the north half champions (Amory) first.” 2021 brought its fair share of success for the Kossuth Aggie football program, but from the way it sounds, they’re looking for even more in 2022.