LAWRENCE COUNTY

Lawrence County Cougars

LC COUGARS

LOOK TO STAY CONSISTENT IN YEAR NUMBER FIVE UNDER ANDERSON

In his previous four seasons of coaching his alma mater, Lawrence County head football coach Jesse Anderson has led his team to the MHSAA 4A playoffs in each year.

Last season the Cougars finished 6-5 and made a push late to grab third place in the region behind 4A title contenders Poplarville and Columbia High.

The season ended with a road loss at McComb High in the first round of the playoffs, a game that LC led for most of the night before a late score by the home team gave MH a 26-20 win.

One thing that brings excitement to the 2022 season for LC is the fact that one of the most dynamic players in this part of the state will have his hand on the ball on every down.

Lawrence County junior Kannon Cato takes over at the quarterback position this year and will give Anderson’s team big play capabilities on every snap.

Cato is quick as a hiccup, shifty as a politician and dynamic in the way he can cut and react.

In the past, Cato has mainly made his bones as a defensive back and as a standout for the LC baseball team.

He’ll see plenty of carries this season as he directs the patented Lawrence County double wing offense. His ability to scramble and make plays with his feet may also open new passing opportunities for the Cougars.

“He’s definitely a guy that the defenses are going to have to account for,” said Anderson. “He’s going to be a threat every play for us.”

Lining up in the backfield will be another junior leader for the Cougars in Ahmad Hardy.

The powerfully built Hardy is part of a long, proud family history of great athletes to come through Monticello.

Like Cato, Hardy has made the most difference thus far in his career on the defensive side of things. Also, like Cato, Hardy stepped onto the varsity field as a freshman starter two years ago.

He’ll now get more carries than ever as a wing-back after averaging 9-yards per carry last season when he also scored nine rushing touchdowns for LC.

Wesley Harris, Zion Thomas and Carlos Eley will all get time at wingback as well.

The biggest question mark coming into this season is the offensive line. There is a whole new set of starters in the unit and how quickly they gel will greatly affect the season that the

2021 RESULTS (6-5)

LAWRENCE COUNTY 12, BHS 0 (FF) LAWRENCE COUNTY 12, LUMBERTON 6 NATCHEZ 34, LAWRENCE COUNTY 20 LAWRENCE COUNTY 32, TAYLORSVILLE 20 TYLERTOWN 26, LAWRENCE COUNTY 14 LAWRENCE COUNTY 47, FORREST COUNTY AHS 20 POPLARVILLE 46, LAWRENCE COUNTY 13 LAWRENCE COUNTY 31, SUMRALL 28 LAWRENCE COUNTY 34, PURVIS 0 COLUMBIA 41, LAWRENCE COUNTY 14 MCCOMB 26, LAWRENCE COUNTY 20

2022 ROSTER SENIORS

Anthony Owens, Carlos Eley, Caleb Dunaway, Ray Conerly, Osvaldo Del angel, Jacob McKinney, LeMichael Barnes, Rodrick Peyton, Jonathan Davis, Elijah Moore, JUNIORS

Dorian Taylor, Zion Thomas, Brilyn Stewart, Terrell Gholar, Kannon Cato, Elijah Smith, Jazerrisu Walker, Markavion Owens, Kenjarion Cunningham, Lauria McDuffey, Ahmad Hardy, Kenyon Vanison, Kedarius Stringer, Alvin Peyton, Jacavious Magee, SOPHOMORES

Jimmon Magee, Jyon Sibley, JoVarion Smith, Wesley Harris, JaBra McGee, Hunter Turner, Jadarrius Powell, Ra’Shaun Lewis, Anthony Hill, Jacavious Jefferson, Branson Champagne, Julius Johnson, Ty Ellis, Keondrae Leggett, Alandis Magee, Amare Weathersby, Joseph Adams, Jatavious Robertson, FRESHMEN

Walt Smith, Emmanuel Clark, James McDuffey, LeFreddrick Harris, Devon McDuffey, Weston Dunaway, Jah’Shawa Clark, Mitchell Stowers, Hunter Smith, Amare Porter, Jarrod Carter EIGHTH GRADERS

Jessie Collins

Cougars have.

Jacavious Magee, Elijah Moore, Rodrick Peyton, Ty Ellis, Jatavious Robertson and Caleb Dunaway will make up the offensive line.

Third year starter Anthony Owens will start at split end and can be a matchup issues for teams on the outside with his size and physicality.

LC ran for over 3,300 yards in each of Anderson’s first two seasons as head coach. Last year the team was 46 yards short of reaching 3,000 yards rushing, which was a bounce back after gaining just 2,000 yards on the ground in a 2020 season that finished with a 3-6 record.

Anderson comes into the 2022 campaign hoping to have a complete unit of 11-men on offense and a fresh group of 11-men on defense. There’ll be some crossovers with Cato, Hardy and Dunaway all being experienced pieces of the defense that can get out and give that side of the ball reps.

One of the bell-cows of the defense will be senior lineman Jonathan Davis. The 6-foot-5, 290-pound Davis stands out when huddled up amongst his teammates.

Juniors JaBra McGee and Jazerrius Walker are two experienced returnees at the linebacker position.

Junior Dorian Taylor returns as a starter in the defensive backfield and will again be a leader in that area. Ray Conerly is another defensive back that Anderson is looking to step up in 2022.

LC also had the luxury of having an experienced kicker in senior Osvaldo del Angel.

Filling out the coaching staff for Anderson will be Lakendrick Smith, John Rutland, Joshua Milton, Nick Daley, Wallace Lily, Jan Lewis and Dexter Sutton.

Daley takes over as defensive coordinator for former DC Seth Avants, who gave up the position to focus solely on his role as head baseball coach at the school.

The season begins with a Thursday night matchup against Brookhaven High in a game played at Copiah-Lincoln CC as part of the KDMC Kickoff Classic. The teams were supposed to play last season to start the year, but BHS had a COVID-19 forced cancellation.

LC won the last meeting on the field between the rivals, a 5228 win in 2019 played in Monticello.

That victory broke a threegame winning streak for BHS in the series.

Region 7-4A is again loaded with top shelf competition, including the defending 4A state champions from Columbia High School.

In non-region play, LC will also take on Lumberton, Natchez, Taylorsville and Tylertown in 2022.

“Our region is going to be really good again,” said Anderson. “Forrest County AHS has Larry Dolan coming back as head coach and he won a state title there running a similar offense to us. Columbia is the defending 4A state champion and Poplarville is a 4A contender every season. I think we’ve been picked to finish fourth in the region. We just want to get better every week, play our style of football and if we can do that playing the competition in our division — we’ll have a chance to make a little noise when the playoffs come.”