High school football kicks off in Kemper County

High school in Kemper County gets under way this weekend.

The Kemper Academy Rams will host Porters Chapel of Vicksburg in their season opener Friday night. On Saturday, the Kemper High School Wildcats will take on Shannon High School in the Louisville Jamboree. The teams start play at 2 p.m.

Kemper Academy

The Rams are under the direction of coach Michael Dawkins, They are taking on a team that went from 11-man football to eight-man after last season.

“We don’t know a lot of about them,” Coach Dawkins said. “But our kids have trained hard this summer and I think they are ready.”

The Rams are “young heavy” according to Dawkins. They have six upper classmen and the rest freshmen and sophomores.

“I think we can do well in our conference,” said Dawkins. “On offense, we are going to do whatever works. If we can run the ball, we’ll run it. If the pass is working, that’s what we are going to do.

“We are balanced and play either way. On defense, we are going to try and move around and be where the ball is.”

Kemper County 

Wildcats

The Wildcats are led by coach Ray Ray Westerfield who is in his second season as head coach.

“We have around 60 guys on the team,” Westerfield said. “Our effort has been good. The execution wasn’t but that will improve.

“I like our chances if we can control the things we can control,” Westerfield said.

The Wildcats have running back Dicenzo Miller Jr. leading the way.

“I think is one of the best running backs in the state,” Westerfield. “He has speed like a receiver. He has some big guys leading the way for him. We have three seniors playing on the line and that’s going to help.”

In their jamboree, the Wildcats will be playing against former coach Darrell Carter who spend three seasons at Kemper County.