A ragtag group of players from different places and backgrounds comes together, fights through adversity, and wins the big game in the end.

It’s a classic sports movie plot — and the real-life arc of the Magnolia Wildcats’ football season.

The home school program authored a storybook finish to its inaugural season by winning the Mid-South Christian Football League championship. They won five of their last six games, capped by a 44-6 rout of the Faith Explorers in the conference title game on Nov. 2, to finish with a 6-3-1 record.

“It was awesome, because we were building the whole season. It was awesome seeing new guys come in and our team improve all the way up to the championship. It was an amazing feeling,” said junior offensive lineman Dylan Britt, a Vicksburg resident. “We did much better than I thought. I didn’t think we would get to where we were going to, let alone it being a blowout in the championship.”

The Wildcats formed early in 2024 with the intent of offering home school students in Central Mississippi the opportunity to play sports. In addition to the football team, they fielded a girls softball team this fall.

The program is a congolmeration of home school associations. About a third of the initial 31-man football roster came from Vicksburg, but others hailed from the Jackson Metro area and as far away as Brookhaven. The other four members of the Mid-South Christian Football League were similarly constructed, albeit from other regions in Mississippi and Louisiana.

Sophomore lineman Thomas Patterson said the team’s make-up brought some unique challenges. Unlike public and private schools where players form bonds, friendships and chemistry through their shared school experiences, the Wildcats had to do that almost exclusively during their two-hour football practices.

“It was a journey. We didn’t have the opportunity like most public or private schools to see each other for several hours throughout every single day. It took a little bit longer than most public or private schools, but we did throughout the season and throughout the practices become closer and closer like a family,” Patterson said. “You can see that in our games. At the beginning we were more uncoordinated and didn’t know each other as well. As we kept going on through the season we got better, but we were also becoming closer.”

The Wildcats had some roster turnover and injuries during the first half of the season as well.

A 56-0 loss to Wilkinson County Christian Academy, an established team that won its district championship in the Mid-South Association of Independent Schools, left the Wildcats battered and bruised. Several starters were injured and they had to cancel two games.

Around the same time, several new players joined the team and quickly worked their way into the lineup. It took a couple of weeks to reboot and get everyone on the same page, but eventually the reinforcements meshed with the originals to get things headed in the right direction.

“We had some changes with personnel, had some coaches leave, but we had a few players join in the middle of the season. Some young kids that had a lot of potential and raw talent,” said James Honeycutt, the Wildcats’ head coach. “We worked with them and it gave a boost in morale to the team. Once we got playing in the playoff games we realized we had a really good thing going so we kept pushing.”

The turning point, players said, came in late September. The Wildcats lost 40-22 to Faith Christian Home School in their conference opener, then blew out the Hattiesburg-based Pine Belt Spartans 44-14 the following week and the New Orleans Home School Saints 80-0 after that.

“It was my second game when we finally started getting our defense and offense put together. After that we were able to play,” said sophomore linebacker Rylan Fuller, who led the team with 57 tackles after joining at midseason. “It took a minute for everybody to get on the same page. It was kind of difficult at first. But then we finally came together as a team and were able to pull through the season.”

The playoffs turned into a victory march for the Wildcats. They beat the Saints again in the semifinals, 60-0, as Ethan Parker threw four touchdown passes and Byron Jones Jr. caught three of them.

The championship game was another blowout, 44-6 over the Jackson-based Faith Explorers. Braeden Donaldson rushed for 217 yards and four touchdowns on only six carries, to go along with five tackles and a fumble recovery on defense.

“Looking at that scoreboard, you pause for a minute like, ‘Am I looking at that right?’ It was hard to believe at first,” Patterson said.

Patterson and Donaldson said the journey the Wildcats went on created memories and a feeling of family — both literally and figuratively. Patterson’s father Brad is an assistant coach on the team, and sharing this season with him is something he treasures.

“The biggest thing is doing this with my dad,” Thomas Patterson said. “Being able to share the wins and the losses, and being able to learn from him and looking at that scoreboard with him — 44-6 — it’s something I’ll never forget.”
Donaldson, meanwhile, said he felt a unique bond with his teammates from going on this ride together.

“It was amazing. For a first-year team to be able to come together and work as a family — not only a team and a brotherhood, but a family — to win together was amazing,” said Donaldson, who rushed for 531 yards and eight touchdowns this season. “It felt great. We never had any problems with each other. We always stuck together and did this all together.”

Honeycutt said the Wildcats will soon hold an awards banquet for the team and begin preparations for their second season. Registration will open this week, and spring practice will begin in late February. Only three seniors — Donaldson, receiver Corey Magee and linebacker Roman Tuminello — were on this year’s roster so hopes are high for 2025.

The machinery of football will soon move on, but the legacy and memories of the 2024 Wildcats will last forever. Not just winning a championship, but doing it in the first season of the program’s existence, was special, players said. Future versions of the Wildcats might be better, but no one can take away what they did in coming together to be their first championship team.

“I’ve been thinking the whole year about how I just started something with a team that started off as nobody. A lot of different dudes and types of kids, and we built a huge run that I hope goes on for a long time,” Donaldson said. “It’s special to be able to do this with the first team, first coach, first defense, first everything. It was special.”