Dale’s Sideline View – 2-3-20

The Kansas City Chiefs have waited 50 years and have finally returned the Vince Lombardo Trophy to the heartland of America. The Chiefs, led by Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, scored three touchdowns in the final six minutes of the game to help KC coach Andy Reid win his first Super Bowl as a head coach after 21 years of strolling the sidelines. Mahomes threw for two scores in the final 6:13 helping the Chiefs erase a 20-10 San Francisco lead to win, 31-20, to claim Super Bowl LIV. 

11 Connections in Super Bowl from the Magnolia State 

Five Mississippians and one with ties to Mississippi are now Super Bowl champions. Houston native Chris Jones (DT) of Mississippi State was stellar as he knocked down three passes. Other Mississippi champs to earn a ring are Mendenhall native Martinas Rankin (OT) of MSU; Jackson native Breeland Speaks of Ole Miss; McComb native Charvarius Ward of Hinds CC and Middle Tennessee; Liberty native Damien Wilson of Alcorn State, Jones County Junior College and Minnesota; and Alabama native Braxton Hoyett (DT) of MSU.  

The four Mississippians on the 49ers were Quitman native Tarvarius Moore (S) of PRCC and USM, Olive Branch native Shan Coleman (OT) of Auburn, D. J. Jones (DT) of East Mississippi CC and Ole Miss and Nick Mullens (QB) of USM. Moore had an interception in the contest for the 49ers. In addition to these four, another tie to Mississippi is former Ole Miss assistant coach Chris Kiffin who is one of the assistant defensive line coaches for the 49ers. He is the younger brother of present Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. 

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas was named the National Football League’s Offensive Player of the Year. 

Football Never Ends 

The National Football League season may be over, but we have more football this weekend. The XFL inaugural season begins this weekend, and all four games will be televised on Saturday and Sunday. There are four teams in the Eastern Division consisting of New York, Washington D.C., Saint Louis and Tampa Bay. The Western Division will have teams in L.A., Houston, Dallas and Seattle. The St. Louis team could be of interest to Mississippians as former Ole Miss quarterback Jordan Ta’amu has been named starting quarterback and his backup is former MSU Bulldog Nick Fitzgerald. Also former Millsaps kicker Russolino Taylor and former Ole Miss defensive tackle Channing Ward are on the roster. The Bravehawks will play at Dallas on Sunday at 4 p.m.

Basketball Update 

The Jackson State Lady Tigers are 8-0 in SWAC play while the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs (19-3, 7-1) are vying for a top 4 seed in next month’s NCAA tournament.  The Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (7-16, 3-7) won an overtime home thriller over Charlotte but now must hit the road this week in C-USA play.  Mississippi State (14-7, 5-3) ran their winning streak to five in conference play and must play the likes of Kentucky this week. Ole Miss (10-11, 1-7) lost an overtime contest to Auburn and then fell at LSU on Saturday.  

Boys of summer return 

The college baseball season opened for Delta State (2-1), Mississippi College (2-1) and William Carey (2-0) this past weekend. Carey swept a double header on Saturday as Bobby Halford begins his 35^thseason leading the Crusaders. Delta State is under a new field general in Rodney Batts while Mississippi College’s Jerry Haworth enters his fifth season in Clinton. This Friday, Millsaps and Belhaven will have their opening days and Ole Miss, USM and State will hit the diamond on Valentine Day. 

The Mississippi Association of Coaches will induct five into their Hall of Fame on June 18 in Jackson. The newly named inductees will be Danny Carlisle, Mike Gavin, Don Hinton, Anthony Jackson and Bill Ward. 

Dale is a native of Waynesboro and has been writing sports since 1973.