Top Ten Greatest 3A Football Teams

[EnterpriseBulldogsFan]

1: 1995 Amory 

2: 1986 Rosedale 

3: 1985 Rosedale

4: 1994 Amory

5: 2002 Collins

6: 2013 Louisville

7: 1989 Magee

8: 1990 Water Valley

9: 1988 Mendenhall

10: 2010 Forest

[coachfball87]

28 minutes ago, EnterpriseBulldogsFan said:

1: 1995 Amory 

2: 1986 Rosedale 

3: 1985 Rosedale

4: 1994 Amory

5: 2002 Collins

6: 2013 Louisville

7: 1989 Magee

8: 1990 Water Valley

9: 1988 Mendenhall

10: 2010 Forest

How many of these are you old enough to remember?

[EnterpriseBulldogsFan]

1 minute ago, coachfball87 said:

How many of these are you old enough to remember?

I was born in the 90s I did research. 

[coachfball87]

12 hours ago, EnterpriseBulldogsFan said:

I was born in the 90s I did research. 

What kind of “research”? Looking at records? 

[Chunky6617]

1995 Amory

2002 Collins 

1985 Rosedale 

[CharlestonTiger4Life]

You missed the 2005 Hazlehurst team.

[NoWammies]

Not that it matters, but the 1985 Rosedale team was better than the 1986 team. Both had a stingy D and an offense that could light the scoreboard up quick but most around here would give the nod to the 1985 team. Dominated the regular season ending it with a victory over a good athletic 9-0 East Side team. During the playoffs they easily knocked off a decent 9-1 Kossuth team on the road. Then in North State they beat a very good 11-0 Lafayette team that had 9 shutouts on the year, had only given up 12 points in 11 games and was the favorite going into the game. In the championship they completely controlled the game against the defending champs Magee. Putting the most points up against them of the entire year. A Magee team that had 7 shutouts prior, was only giving up 5 pts a game and earlier in the year shutdown Emmitt Smith’s Escambia team in a 7-6 loss. All I remember hearing as a kid was Magee’s coach David Bradley talking about how Rosedale was a no name and hadn’t faced a defense/team like theirs all year. What Bradley didn’t know was like Escambia, Rosedale had a couple future NFL players of their own on offense that D had to deal with. All HoF Coach Leland Young did was remain quiet and put together an excellent gameplan to bring home the schools second gold ball as one of if not the best teams in MS that year. 

Edited July 3, 2021 by NoWammies

[EnterpriseBulldogsFan]

On 7/2/2021 at 12:47 AM, CharlestonTiger4Life said:

You missed the 2005 Hazlehurst team.

2005 Hazlehurst just missed the cut.

[Insideradvantage]

On 7/3/2021 at 8:06 AM, NoWammies said:

Not that it matters, but the 1985 Rosedale team was better than the 1986 team. Both had a stingy D and an offense that could light the scoreboard up quick but most around here would give the nod to the 1985 team. Dominated the regular season ending it with a victory over a good athletic 9-0 East Side team. During the playoffs they easily knocked off a decent 9-1 Kossuth team on the road. Then in North State they beat a very good 11-0 Lafayette team that had 9 shutouts on the year, had only given up 12 points in 11 games and was the favorite going into the game. In the championship they completely controlled the game against the defending champs Magee. Putting the most points up against them of the entire year. A Magee team that had 7 shutouts prior, was only giving up 5 pts a game and earlier in the year shutdown Emmitt Smith’s Escambia team in a 7-6 loss. All I remember hearing as a kid was Magee’s coach David Bradley talking about how Rosedale was a no name and hadn’t faced a defense/team like theirs all year. What Bradley didn’t know was like Escambia, Rosedale had a couple future NFL players of their own on offense that D had to deal with. All HoF Coach Leland Young did was remain quiet and put together an excellent gameplan to bring home the schools second gold ball as one of if not the best teams in MS that year. 

I have first hand knowledge of both those 85 and 86 Rosedale teams, and you might as well take them out of the conversation as one of the best 3A teams and just put the 1985 team in the conversation about one of the best teams ever period... regardless of classification. The 1985 bunch would flat run you off the field. Their big thing was to say they didn't have a kid over 199 on the team. If that was the case, they had about 20 guys at 199 and they could all run like the wind. They were trouble. Plain and simple. 

[IRONEagle]

2 hours ago, Insideradvantage said:

I have first hand knowledge of both those 85 and 86 Rosedale teams, and you might as well take them out of the conversation as one of the best 3A teams and just put the 1985 team in the conversation about one of the best teams ever period... regardless of classification. The 1985 bunch would flat run you off the field. Their big thing was to say they didn't have a kid over 199 on the team. If that was the case, they had about 20 guys at 199 and they could all run like the wind. They were trouble. Plain and simple. 

Based on the remarkable conversations I had with my dad, Rosedale was among the cream of the crop in Mississippi during the late 70s - 80s into the early 90s. I didn’t get an opportunity to see Coach Young until I was around 9 years old during his return to the sidelines at Rosedale. That year Rosedale officially was restored. It was the 1998 season and that team was flat out physical. They loss to the 4A State Champions Clarksdale 28-26 in the finals seconds of the game. They loss a couple close games in the regular finishing 10-2 and were firing on all cylinders before a bad car accident sideline their star RB in the 2nd Round of the 3A playoffs. That’s when I realize as a child Rosedale football program was elite. The 5 state titles could’ve been about 8 to be honest… 

[IRONEagle]

On 7/3/2021 at 8:06 AM, NoWammies said:

Not that it matters, but the 1985 Rosedale team was better than the 1986 team. Both had a stingy D and an offense that could light the scoreboard up quick but most around here would give the nod to the 1985 team. Dominated the regular season ending it with a victory over a good athletic 9-0 East Side team. During the playoffs they easily knocked off a decent 9-1 Kossuth team on the road. Then in North State they beat a very good 11-0 Lafayette team that had 9 shutouts on the year, had only given up 12 points in 11 games and was the favorite going into the game. In the championship they completely controlled the game against the defending champs Magee. Putting the most points up against them of the entire year. A Magee team that had 7 shutouts prior, was only giving up 5 pts a game and earlier in the year shutdown Emmitt Smith’s Escambia team in a 7-6 loss. All I remember hearing as a kid was Magee’s coach David Bradley talking about how Rosedale was a no name and hadn’t faced a defense/team like theirs all year. What Bradley didn’t know was like Escambia, Rosedale had a couple future NFL players of their own on offense that D had to deal with. All HoF Coach Leland Young did was remain quiet and put together an excellent gameplan to bring home the schools second gold ball as one of if not the best teams in MS that year. 

NoWammies, you put the stories I’ve heard into words. Coach Leland Young and Rosedale was legendary during this era. 

[NoWammies]

5 hours ago, Insideradvantage said:

The one thing about Coach Young is he never had a big line his entire career and use to make jokes about it. If you can go from a physical practice to pushing a bus up the levee and running it you can easily fire off the ball and push a line and 4th quarters came easy. Also I agree about the class thing cuz when you have NFL and D1 talent all over the field class doesn’t matter. Scariest thing in the 80’s would’ve been what Coach Young could’ve done with Fred Barnett had he been allowed to play sooner as a kid. 

[IRONEagle]

I would also add to the discussion that Rosedale had a 40 game winning streak during the 80s. I was told the game in which the streak ended included a controversial pass interference call against Rosedale that would’ve ended the game. 

[Archer]

Kindly remind me of some standouts from those Rosedale squads.