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Playoffs 1948-1949
How many of you knew Mississippi high school's had a playoff system prior to 1981? Not many I bet. Actually the Mississippi High School Literary and Athletic Association set up a playoff format in 1948 that lasted all of two seasons before being discarded.
The format was simple. One school from each classification and each district would qualify for the post season. That meant there would be eight teams in three classifications. The largest schools, all members of the Big Eight Conference, elected not to participate either season. Those schools were members of the AA classification.
In 1948, Class A District One, West Point withdrew due to the death of their manager so Grenada received a bye in the first round. In 1949 Kosciusko was forced to forfeit their first six games when it was found they had used an ineligible player. School officials appealed and took the case all the way to the state supreme court before the ruling was overturned and they were allowed to compete for a championship.
In 1949 Class A, Districts six and seven decided not to participate in the playoffs for some unknown reason. Why did the playoff system die shortly after it started? There seemed to be several reasons at the time. It was expensive for the smaller schools to travel and play so many more games was one reason. It was also confusing as to which teams would qualify for a playoff slot.
Several strange and odd things happened along the way. In 1949 Ocean Springs defeated Perkinston 14-13 but declined to advance to the first round so Perkinston went on to advance to the semi-finals before losing. Taylorsville and Waynesboro played to a 0-0 tie for the District Six championship and the winner was decided by a coin flip. Taylorsville then went on to beat Purvis 19-6 in the first round. The two teams played to a 6-6 in regulation so they played a fifth quarter to decide a winner.
Below are the playoff games from the 1948 and 1949 seasons along with the Districts each team represented in parenthesis. I added links to view the season for the finalists.
1948 Season
A
12/3/1948 - 1st Round
(2) Grenada - Bye
(3) Drew 14-7 Louisville (4)
(5) Newton 26-14 Yazoo City (6)
(8) Picayune 27-0 Crystal Springs (7)
12/10/1948 - Semi-finals
Picayune 38-6 Newton
Grenada 34-0 Drew
12/17/1948 - Finals
Picayune 26-20 Grenada
BB
12/3/1948 - 1st Round
(1) New Albany 19-6 Batesville (2)
(3) Indianola 13-6 Macon (4)
(6) Morton 33-13 Moselle (5)
(7) Magnolia 20-19 Lumberton (8)
12/10/1948 Semi-finals
Indianola 19-14 New Albany
Magnolia 14-12 Morton
12/17/1948 - Finals
Indianola 21-12 Magnolia
B
12/3/1948 - 1st Round
(2) Hernando 20-0 Artesia (1)
(4) Sallis 26-6 Webb (3)
(6) Flora 26-0 Mount Olive (5)
(7) Woodville 58-14 Pass Christian (8)
12/10/1948 Semi-finals
Sallis 38-6 Hernando
Woodville 26-6 Flora
12/17/1948 - Finals
Sallis 7-0 Woodville
1949 Season
A
11/25/1949 - 1st Round
(1) Aberdeen 27-7 Oxford (2)
(4) Kosciusko 26-0 Drew (3)
(5) Newton - Bye
(8) Picayune - Bye
12/2/1949 - Semi-finals
Kosciusko 26-25 Aberdeen
Picayune 40-6 Newton
12/9/1949 - Finals
Kosciusko 19-6 Picayune
BB
11/18/1949 & 11/25/1949 - 1st Round
(2) Sardis 27-12 New Albany (1)
(4) Macon 34-19 Indianola (3)
(6) Taylorsville 19-6 Purvis (5)
(8) Culkin 13-12 Magnolia (7)
12/2/1949 Semi-finals
Sardis 29-0 Macon
Taylorsville 25-6 Culkin
12/9/1949 - Finals
Sardis 46-6 Taylorsville
B
11/18/1949 & 11/25/1949 - 1st Round
(2) Horn Lake - (1)
(4) Sallis - (3)
(7) Crosby 42-7 Byram (6)
(8) Perkinston 39-0 Mount Olive (5)
12/2/1949 Semi-finals
Sallis 20-0 Horn Lake
Crosby 19-13 Perkinston
12/9/1949 - Finals
Crosby 26-6 Sallis
David Parker
AHSFHS.org
dparker@ahsfhs.org
